Hearts Ablaze
by LarsEversea143
Summary: 'Planet Phantom' never happened, and Danny has been a half-ghost protecting Amity Park for three years now. His life as a halfa has started to effect his human life, and soon he will have to make a choice. As he finds love in the strangest of places, can he find the answers to his question of: "What about my future?" DISCONTINUED
1. Ch 1 : Time Flies

**Introduction note: In this fanfiction, 'Planet Phantom' never happened, and so the world doesn't know Danny's real identity. I take us ahead in time, to the time that Danny and his friends are 17. This is an attempt at a shipping I actually am not such a massive fan off. Still, I'm giving this a go.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or Nickelodeon. Only the plot, thank you.**

* * *

Normal life in Amity Park isn't exactly a thrill to have. Sure, people come and go, tourists pass by, shoppers buy junk and stuff and the occasional criminal tries to steal something.

But that wasn't what scarred the citizens of this town, or kept them wary of things. The reason was really simple. So stupid, yet so simple. No one would believe them if they said it, it only seems to be in their town.

But, how would _you_ react if your hometown turned out to be like a magnet for Ghost-attacks?

"Duck!"

Another blast caused a nearby house to collapse. Missiles flew everywhere, and the people who hadn't already fled the scene were now screaming as they ran away from the threat.

"Come on, Skulker! That all you've got?"

A teenage boy with white hair and green eyes taunted the massive armored ghost. Normally, a person with some common sense would yell for the kid to get out of there. But, this wasn't any normal child.

This was Danny Phantom, town hero and teen half-ghost.

Or almost a young man, seeing that he's already 17.

"Sit still, you brat!" Skulker yelled as he fired another round of ecto-blasts at our hero. He smirked as he simply turned intangible and the blasts passed through him, hitting a nearby store.

You would think that people would get angry with the way he disrespects people their property and valuables, but after having saved the town so many times, the citizens had come to live with the risk. And, hey, nowadays you can ask for a 'Ghost-Attack Insurance'.

"You know, I still remember the times you were actually able to defeat me, hands down." Danny chuckled as he darted away from a missile, almost acting with a certain grace in the battle. "But now, is your time with Ember making you grow soft, Skulky?"

"Don't you dare mention _her_!" The hunter yells with fury before firing every weapon he had in his arsenal. The way he yelled it, along with the fact he missed the little taunt, made Danny a bit skeptical of the ghost's intentions. _'You would think that he would care less. I know that's how their relationship works, at least.'_

"Wow, touchy today, aren't we? Let's finish this quick then, huh? That way, you can go and see her again." He cringed inwardly, those words not falling well on his tongue. He grabbed the Fenton Thermos and opened it before sucking the hunter inside, the ghost screaming bloody murder. Danny didn't hear the muffled scream from Skulker that declared he didn't want to see Ember. Ever again.

The boy smirked as he put the thermos back around his belt. Gazing around, he whistled at the damage left behind. A few buildings were destroyed, and he was sure those stores were lost. When he notices a music store still intact, something in his heart skips a beat.

He floats down, knowing well that this is against every rule a hero has, but he couldn't resist.

' _Besides, can't I have at least something in return for saving the town so many times?'_

He walks inside the store and looks around the shelves. After a few moments he stops with a victorious "ah, ha!" and pulls the box holding a cd from the shelf.

It read 'Remember' from Ember McLain.

He never understood why people kept her music around after the whole 'hypnotizing my fans and trying to take over the world' ordeal. Sure, by now she has sort of given up on that after one to many unpleasant and semi-embarrassing battles with Phantom. She still comes over to make trouble once a time, but the fact they share more banter then fists sure improved things for them both.

If only she wasn't the girlfriend of Skulker.

He inwardly sighed as he tucked the cd away. He took a last look through the store, maybe expecting to find something else. Finding none, he was about to fly off when his eyes fall on a mirror in the store.

A nostalgic smile comes to his face as he examines his appearance. With the past year, he has grown to be more broad, muscular and taller. His suit had received a few improvements, some green and gray now mixed between the black and white. His hair was a bit wilder, and his eyes showed the experience and time from fighting ghosts for three years now.

Three years.

He sighed before turning intangible and flying off into the morning sky.

* * *

"Yo, Danny!"

Danny Fenton turned around, his eyes meeting those of his friends. He smiled and waved them over to his spot in the cafeteria.

School hadn't changed much, besides going up a grade and getting more homework. In time he learned to balance his two lives, drastically improving his grades.

That and it can help to have a genius sister to help you with homework.

His two friends took their respective seats across him. Tucker had that smile on his face that hardly anyone could brush away. Reason enough for him, too, having found the one half a year ago. The two were happy, and she was even able to help Tucker overcome his obsession with technology. The boy had become more mature in mind and body, although he still had that baggy hat on almost all the time.

The boy turned to his PDA, focus solely on the device now.

' _Well, almost overcome his obsession.'_ Danny mused in his thoughts. His eyes averted to his second friend and only real female friend. Sam.

She had improved on her appearance too. A year back, he would have fainted by how beautiful she looked, but after trying to date for a few months they decided that being friends was a lot nicer. It just didn't click so well as both had hoped it would. And with that, Danny was also starting to wonder if dating a human girl was even a good option.

After all, he's only half-human. His half-ghost side had quite a few effects on him physically.

Firstly, it seemed that his powers never stopped to grow. By now he was strong enough to one-hand a ghost like Undergrowth and not break a sweat. Secondly, he knew that his aging was going slower than that of normal humans. His growth-spurt came later than normal, and he was sure that by now he was getting more and more stuck in his youthlike appearance.

With that he started to question things. Like, is he going to out-age his friends? He doesn't even know if a ghost _can_ die of old age! _'Knowing that Ember is supposed to be over thirty years old, but she still looks like 17, maybe not.'_

He sighs inwardly. He caught himself thinking about the ghost pop star one to many times to be normal, again. Ever since their seeming 'truce' and his change in taste of music, he has been paying more attention to the blue-haired girl.

"Danny!"

The yell from Sam in his ears snapped him to attention, his head shooting up with a hard yank, something in his neck popping.

"Ouch, my neck. What the heck, Sam?"

"You were staring into space again, dude." Answered Tucker for the goth as he drank from his soda.

"I was?" He asks, a bit surprised. It had happened before, the half-ghost staring into space when he's deep in thought. He almost missed his ghost-sense several times thanks to it.

"Yep." The two said in unison. He chuckled nervously, rubbing the sore spot in his neck.

' _Gotta remember to get something for those two as thanks.'_

* * *

School was over in a flash, and after dealing with the Box Ghost (seriously, does he even know what the word 'quit' means?!) Danny arrived at his home.

But that wasn't the Fenton Works anymore.

"Hey, Jazz!" Danny calls as he enters the apartment. His sister had decided to get her own place before going to college. After some debate, and some support from his friends and Jazz, Danny was allowed to move with her. She had a job in town to pay the bill, and he helped where he could to keep anything from distracting her off her studies.

"Hey bro!" She calls from the kitchen, spatula in one hand and a pan with eggs in the other. He smiled as the smell of food entered his nostrils.

Jazz had visibly grown up. Aside of growing to her max height, she had received some more curves to her form and her hair had grown longer. She beamed with maturity, even though he knew she still had that nice sisterly side to herself.

"Diner almost ready?" He asked as he put his jacket away over his chair in the dining room.

"Almost. Any troubles with the ghosts?" She asked as she turned back to focus on the food.

"Skulker was acting different, but maybe he and Ember are having a 'moment'. The Box ghost was his usual annoying self, and besides that everything fine."

Jazz hummed in understanding. His days were becoming more and more routine, the attacks almost predictable. And he knew the obvious sign for that was coming up next.

"So Ember will be paying a visit tomorrow?"

"The usual. Maybe a bit earlier, but I think around 11 o'clock."

He had quickly figured out that, if he fought with Skulker one day, Ember would be there tomorrow to 'pay her respects' as she voiced it. Both never went too far, and often they just called it quits after an hour. He knew her relationship with the hunter called for these actions, but he also knew she didn't really want to.

' _Typical teenage relationship.'_ He mussed as he sat down in the sofa in front of the old flat-screen TV.

As he waited for Jazz to finish cooking, his thoughts wandered to his own relationships. He and Jazz got together well as brother and sister, maybe a bit more than the usual teenage siblings. His friends Tucker and Sam were very close, he was willing to call them family, and they always supported him. He has allies in the Ghost zone, and the enemies he does have were starting to grow on him like a true hero-villain attitude.

His parents though were a different story. Never giving up to try and capture Danny Phantom, he was glad to have gotten out of that hell-hole of a house. His encounters with them were far from pleasant, and the usual attempts to 'rip him apart, molecule after molecule!' were starting to bore him. At least their continues supply of new weapons kept him on some sort of edge.

Outside of the ghost-hunters that always chased him, and the ghosts from the Ghost zone, there weren't many other people he was close too.

Although…

"I'm home!"

The door flew open, almost slamming into the wall. Danny didn't as much as flinch, but the startled yelp from the kitchen told him that Jazz had, to some extent. He smiled as he got up from the sofa, only to fall back on it by the impact from a black and white blur jumping into his arms.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, Danielle." He greats his daughter.

After the whole ordeal with getting his 'clone' re-stabilized, he was able to catch up with her to get a good word through. She promised to come back, and she did only a few weeks afterwards. Completely bruised and battered. Street-live wasn't faring so well as hoped. He had been contemplating his connection to her for some time then, and after long consideration came to a definite conclusion. She's his daughter, and he would take the role of the father she never had and desperately needed.

Getting her officially registered wasn't so difficult, with some hacking at Tucker's part. He got guardianship over her, and he was certain on getting himself registered as her father, too. It was the last reason for him to join Jazz into living separately. For one, his parents couldn't find out about her so easily, and he knew they never checked the family papers so much (besides, everything for Danielle was digitally uploaded and stored).

Second, she could be her natural self without worrying about her halfa status being exposed.

"How was school today, Ellie?" Jazz asked as she entered from the kitchen, busy removing her apron. The young hybrid had a beaming smile on her face, and that seemed enough of an answer for Danny.

"It was great! Jake and Amy helped me with my homework today. Oh! We learned some more Spanish words!" She explained happily as she sat down next to her dad. He was really proud of his little girl, the way she's able to be so normal, despite the obvious knowledge she isn't.

Getting her enrolled was a small hustle. Taking some overshadowing on his part and convincing from Jazz, the principal of Amity Elementary finally relented and allowed Danielle to go to school. She made plenty of friends in school, but her BFF's Jake and Amy were unique.

They knew about her halfa nature, having caught the girl transforming after leaving for home. Danny and Jazz had taken the two separate the next day, and explained as much as possible without endangering their friendship. To say it was in any kind of danger would be a lie, though. The knowledge of her secret only strengthened the bond between the trio, and both Fenton's remarked how similar they were to the original trio from Team Phantom.

Lastly, to explain her age. That was more a reveal in old Plasmius' part. A run-in with a de-aging device the halfa had made had left the girl reverting back in age fast, almost to the point that she was a toddler. Luckily, a reverse of the weapon by Tucker's help was all they needed, but she insisted on only aging slightly, becoming a 9, now 10, year old girl.

At least she was closer to her real age now.

The sudden gasp from both hybrids and their collective ghost-senses gathering in the air alerted them quickly. They bolted upright, ready for action, but the calming gesture from Jazz assured them. Danny shook his head as he noticed the fourth plate she had set up on the table. A knock sounded on the door, and he kew that they had a guest.

"I'll get it." He states before heading to the door. Jazz returned to the kitchen to put dinner out, whilst Danielle left to put her schoolbag away in her room. He opened the door, a pleasantly surprised smile appearing on his face at who was at the other side.

"Hey, Kitty!" He greats with a big smile, taking the ghost-girl in a hug. She returns with an equally happy smile.

"Good to see you too, Phantom." She greets before breaking the hug. He stands to the side to allow the green-haired teen inside.

"You know its Fenton when I'm human." He retorts, but the hint of sarcasm in his tone assured the girl he was only slightly angry with her slip-up.

"Sorry, urge of the habit, I guess." She apologizes as she enters the apartment. The ghost-girl had gotten on good terms with Jazz when they had their last encounter, despite the situation. After some talking, Danny allowed her to come visit once, and after that she hit off with the two young Fentons. Now it was nice to have her visit once in a while, her company a good show of the growing friendship.

"Take a seat, Diner's almost done. Right, Jazz?" He calls to the kitchen as he followed Kitty into the dining room. The ghost-girl takes off her jacket and scarf, hanging them over the chair.

"All set!" Jazz calls as she appears with the food. Right at that time Danielle enters from the hallway leading to their rooms. She's quick to the table, taking her seat. The rest quickly follows and they all take their fill.

The four pass the time talking about whatever comes to mind. Jokes are exchanged and Danny is kept up to date with things in the Ghost zone thanks to Kitty.

* * *

Friday ended, and Saturday rolled around the corner. The sun peeked from the horizon, slowly waking up the citizens in town.

Danny was the last to wake up, and not the normal way. It was already 9 o'clock, and he was still sleeping. Jazz shook her head as she put her and Danielle's plate in the dishwasher.

"Dani, can you go and wake your dad up?" She asks to the girl, who was passing the time reading in the sofa. She groaned as she put the book away, marking where she had gotten, and stood up. A small giggle escaped her as she formulated a wake-up plan. The glint of mischief that Jazz noticed made her chuckle.

"He'll be grumpy the rest of the day."

Danny was half-sprawled on his bed, chest rising and falling slightly. He wasn't a snorer, but was known for his deep slumber. Only his ghost-sense could wake him in this state.

That, or Danielle jumping onto his bed and landing on his chest.

"Oomph!"

He jerked up, the sudden weight on his chest causing him to lose his breath and abruptly waking him from his sleep. His eyes focused on the person guilty for waking him up so early on a Saturday.

"Aunt Jazz made breakfast. You missed her egg-surprise." Danielle giggled as she nuzzled into his chest. Catching his breath, he groaned, laying a hand over his eyes.

"Remind me not to eat too much on Friday." Danny groaned, knowing how much off a loss it is to miss Jazz her famous egg-surprise. His little girl giggled into his bare chest, enjoying the cold he radiates thanks to his ice-core.

Half an hour later a slightly grumpy Danny is finishing his breakfast. Jazz had left for her morning shift, leaving him and Danielle alone in the apartment. Said girl was back to reading her book.

She wasn't as much trouble as other girls of her age were. She had more maturity and showed great responsibility. The halfa still has her playful and childish side, but that only moved Danny to help her have as much fun as possible. Neither wanted to be apart for too long, be it Danny quickly finishing his battles with the ghosts, or Danielle making her homework in time (what Jazz found something to encourage).

Right now, though, they simply enjoyed each other's company and allowed a comfortable silence to hang around them.

Danny moved to turn the TV on, just looking for a good channel to view. No homework for next Monday left him with little work to do, besides his knowledge of the fight that will ensue today.

Two hours passed, it was now 11:34 as Danny checked the digital watch around his wrist, and just when he was starting to wonder if his calculations were off, the familiar wisp escaped his mouth. He looked to Danielle who had the same happen, but she only turned to look at him.

"Jazz will be home in around half an hour for midday break. You'll be okay, right?" He asked her, knowing the answer well enough, just asking to assure his own instincts that the girl will be fine. Dani rolled her eyes in exasperation as she nods before turning back to her book.

He took the usual spot in the center of the room after that, and transformed, not bothering with his usual cry.

* * *

Jazz had chosen a strategic spot for her apartment. Close to college, Amity High School and Amity Elementary so all three could reach there spots in time. Jazz was able to use her car to reach both college and her work in time, and lastly it was close to Amity Central Park, the hot spot for Ghost attacks.

And that was also the place where Danny knew he could find Ember. She always chose a place big enough for the crowd of hypnotized people she would gather. And the park was always full with citizens.

As he flew over the streets of the town, he noticed something unusual. People were running away from the park. _Running away_. Not towards the park like he sometimes saw them do, but _away_!

' _Okay, unless someone made her really pissed off, no one should be running away like this. What's going on?'_

Finally entering the park, he quickly received his answer by a stray missile flying right past him before blasting into a tree.

"Wow, what the heck?" He turned to the source and at first wanted to slap his face in exasperation.

Skulker and Ember were fighting. He at first assumed that this was another one of their squabbles, but when he noticed that Skulker was in his strongest armor yet, Danny got curious.

Sneaking up closer, he found the next strange thing: they weren't shouting at each other. Normally their fighting came along with shouts and curses that could make even an adult flushed.

Then he noticed how strong the battle was going. Both were running on pure adrenaline, and he saw that neither were holding back. _'This isn't a normal battle between those two misery-lovers.'_

His thoughts were interrupted when another missile hit, this time on the base of the tree he was hiding in. Danny quickly flew out of the way as the tree crashed on the ground. Neither seemed to have noticed him, but he took shelter in a different tree to stay unnoticed.

He watched as they fought, Ember exchanging blasts from her guitar and Skulker firing a variety of weapons emerging from his armor. His eyes were more focused on Ember, the way she was fighting him with such force, such strength yet so controlled… There was an eerie grace in her movement, like she was dancing in the battle.

 **BOOM!**

The blast flashed right in front of his eyes, blinding Danny for a moment. He blinked the spots away, and his mouth fell open at the sight.

Ember had been blasted out of her position, right into a tree. Her guitar had fallen on the ground, and she seemed to be out cold. He squinted his eyes and noticed she was already stirring awake. His eyes darted to Skulker, who was hovering in the air with a smug look on his face.

Both ghosts their eyes fell on the musical instrument on the ground. Ember tried to get up and bolt for it, but her leg suddenly buckled and she dropped to her knees.

Skulker was faster, but he wasn't going to grab the instrument.

"Not so strong without this, huh? Well, how about THIS!"

Right when he said that, Skulker deactivated his jet-wings and landed with great force on the guitar. Danny's eyes widened as he watches the armored hunter land on the instrument and it was crushed to pieces. The pop star her eyes became dishes and the pupils dots at the sight of her instrument, a piece of her soul, being crushed like it was nothing.

"Not so great anymore, huh, woman!" Skulker started laughing maniacally. A growl started to form in Danny's throat at the sight. Sure, Ember has done some things that weren't good, and she also didn't have a perfect personality, but she didn't deserve to be treated like _that_!

Before both realized it, the hunter had drawn a big ecto-blaster. It was charged in seconds and before he fired, Skulker stated one last thing.

"Your pelt will hang amazing above my fireplace."

And then he fired.

Ember was hit straight in the chest, blasting her through trees and the metal fence around the park. The diva's course ended in the stands of a store in the street, rubble and dust flying everywhere. Some of the people who dared to stay around and watch, like some reporters, gasped at the sight. They weren't so aware of the ghosts their routines like Danny, but even they knew that these two had never gone _so_ far!

"Ember!"

Danny gulped as his scream to her left his throat before he could stop it. His eyes slowly went to the hunter, who was now glaring at Phantom with a sight unlike anything else he'd seen before from Skulker.

A glare filled with rage and pure evil.

No mercy.

No regret.

No humanity.

Gulp.

"Phantom." The hunter growled deeply, a shiver going down Danny's spine. Skulker always called him names, he never called him by his last name!

Not good.

His instincts suddenly kicked in as he avoided a missile blasting the tree he was hiding in to bits. Blasts quickly followed afterwards, not giving the ghost-teen any time to dodge them all. One hit him in the chest and two in the stomach. Three landed on his limbs, and one graced his face, leaving a cut in his cheek. His hand clutched the side of his face, his fear slowly turning into anger.

He had taken it too far now.

"Skulker!" Danny shouted as he fired an ecto-blast of his own from his hands. The armored hunter reacted to slow and he was hit in the chest. A small crack was made in the armor, but neither saw it.

The two got in a struggling fight, one side fighting without mercy and the other with confusion.

One blast caught Danny off guard, and Skulker used it to fire a missile. The explosion wasn't strong enough to really hurt him so much, but it still battered him hard. He was blasted away by the force, taking almost a similar path like Ember, only landing on the street itself, his eyes facing the store where she had crashed into. There wasn't a sign yet of the blue-haired ghost, and that worried him.

She couldn't be… Right?

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of a missile approaching. Turning intangible and phasing into the ground, Danny avoided the blast. Skulker grit his steel teeth at the escape of the whelp, but oh well.

At least he's got the diva.

"Boo."

The hunter jumped from the sound behind him. He turned around, only to receive an ecto-powered fist into his face.

"What is going on here?" Danny was finally able to ask now he has the hunter's rational attention. Skulker blinked a few times, shaking the brunt of the hit off.

He supposed the whelp deserves to know.

"That woman has been paying less and less attention on me! Every time you.. beat me, she told me she would do something about it! I got curious, so I followed her only to see the TWO of you fighting like it was some kind of joke! I. Had. ENOUGH!" As Skulker finishes his raged-fueled explanation, the flaming hair on his head burst into a great ball of green fire, surprising even Phantom.

He only ever saw Ember do that when she got angry.

And no one wants an angry Ember.

"You know, if I am able to beat you every single time, then it kinda seems obvious why she doesn't do much about it. Like she ever beat me!" Danny retorted. The hunter growled deep and snorted in frustration.

"YOU ALWAYS HOLD BACK AGAINST HER!" Skulker yelled over any noise you could imagine. Birds in the distance flew away and every person in the area crowed away at the fury in his shout. Even Danny cringed under the force, kicking him back a few feet.

"Because I know she could DIE if I don't hold back! You I know I can do more with, you can handle it!" Phantom was really starting to grow annoyed with the way Skulker is acting so selfishly. He's even worse than the diva herself! How in the world can Ember even _love_ this guy?!

" **ENOUGH!"**

Skulker charged with great force at the half-ghost, surprising him. Danny was knocked back into a tree by the force, the great oak cracking and crashing behind him. He shook his head before ducking, avoiding a barrage of blasts. By now Skulker was all rage and fury, no rational thought.

But Danny had learned to keep himself composed over time so even the heat of battle couldn't make him lose his cool.

He blasted Skulker's feet with an ice-ray before blocking the blasts with an ecto-shield. It held up against the ghost's weapons and he marched confidently closer.

As soon as he was in range, he dropped the shield. Skulker tried to grab him or blast him to bits, but his weapons and fists got knocked back every time. The blasters were busted to bits by the halfa's fists and his hands were frozen solid to pillars of ghostly ice coming from the ground.

Danny scanned the captured ghost, finding the crack from earlier in the armor's chest. A smirk came to his face and he cracked his knuckles, preparing to give them a show of a life-time.

He grabbed into the crack, his hands fitting just between the armored plates that were broken. Skulker his eyes widened and he tried to break free, but Danny had assured the ice was strong enough to hold.

"Honestly, I don't even know why she loves you. You treat her like a thing! You act like shit to her! Have you even god damn _kissed_ her?!" Danny started against the ghost, his anger slowly seeping through the mask he kept in battle. These were those rare moments he allowed control to slip just to get the desired effect. The hunter his eyes widened, and at the last part he tried to look anywhere else than Phantom.

"You really haven't have you? You don't love her at all, do you?! That's the fucking point of a relationship! Why did you keep her around for so long?!" His yells were growing louder and louder, his hands slowly tearing the plates apart. Skulker was to caught in the moment to notice, and his ego was getting the better of him.

"She was just a way to pass time! Do you know how hard it can be to love someone for _all eternity_?!"

"It shouldn't be so hard. Love is forever, don't people say that? Maybe it's time you start looking at things from a different perspective…" Danny trailed off, his voice becoming very menacing and dark. Skulker followed the boy's eyes and suddenly he was very aware of the crack in his armor growing bigger with every input of strength from the halfa.

"Like your real self!"

Danny started screaming very loud as he put all his force into breaking the armor. As the crack grows, the plates become weaker, and suddenly the sound of a bolt giving way echoes through the air. Skulkers eyes narrow to dots as he realizes what has happened, and with one final push, Danny cracks the armor open in two.

Curious bystanders had seen it all happen, and those that could see beyond Phantom would gasp in shock before trying to hold back their laughter.

In the place of the now broken and brittle armor was a small green figure floating. Skulker's true form has been revealed, and it looked hilarious!

"Now fly off before I suck you into the thermos and send you to the darkest part of the Ghost Zone." Danny finishes as he takes a few composing breaths. The green blob speeds away, shrieking in panic. After a few tensive seconds the crowd starts to gather around him before breaking into applause and whistling.

But Danny didn't have time to hear to their praising. He quickly left the crowd to find the other one gathered around the ruined store. He lands behind the people and they walk aside for him.

He searches through the rubble and finds a single flash of blue through all the gray of the dust and bricks. Levitating, blasting and throwing the broken stone away, he uncovers the battered ghost-girl. Her eyes were shut, her body covered with cuts, bruises and a gash in her arm and leg. Ectoplasm was leaking from the wounds and he knew that she needed help.

Now.

Her hair was hardly burning. Being careful for her injuries, he picks Ember up and flies off with the pop star in his caring arms.

His vision was locked on getting to the apartment in time, his mind taking twists and turns as he processes what has just happened.

' _I saved her from curtain doom, that's what.'_

* * *

 **Author's note: I know I'm busy with my first story of Danny Phantom, but I got intruiged and this came out.**

 **Anyways, remember to tell me what you think. Review, fav and follow and I'll see ya'll soon!**


	2. Ch 2 : Waking call

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or Nickelodeon. If I did, then I would have kept Butch Hartman around.**

* * *

Pain.

Real, awful pain.

That was the first thing her mind registered as it regained consciousness.

She groaned, the sensations coming from her body slamming together in her numb head. Through the pain, she was able to ask one thing.

How?

As an answer, memories of the battle flashed in front of her closed eyes. She focused on the brightest ones, and another groan left her.

Skulker. A fight, him being a real jackass… That blast flinging her through the park and into a store…

Ouch, that really hurt. In more ways than one.

She tried to remember more. Snippets of the fight rushed through her head, and she grabbed at the best one possible.

Skulker taunting her as she tried to get her guitar… Him landing and crushing… M-my… Guitar…

Oh…

Right.

 _That_.

Allowing the rest of the embarrassing memories to scatter, she tried to focus on her body. Her senses told her she was lying on something soft and warm, comforting. She wasn't outside, no wind and the smell of nature.

Yeah, people might say that ghosts don't feel, but they do. Everything that humans do, even taste.

And hunger, starving hunger.

She groaned as her eyes tried to open. She flinched and closed them when a blinding light entered her vision. Trying to get her arm to cover her eyes, she felt a terrible pang of pain coursing through her body from her shoulder.

Yep, definitely dislocated.

Trying her other arm, she finally found just how tired she is. Barely any energy to stay conscious.

And then someone, somebody or just, something, put a cold glass against her lips. At first unsure, the touch of cold, refreshing water against her dehydrated lips, she found that perhaps it's smart to ignore her burning fire-core and just enjoy the coolness. Only this once.

Her lips parted slightly to allow the divine liquid to flow down her throat and refresh her body.

Yeah, she really needed that.

And as the refreshing feeling cooled her body, she felt her mind slip into a dark, dreamless rest.

* * *

Second time she woke up, her body felt a lot better. Her shoulder wasn't dislocated anymore, and she could tell from the soft fabric against her skin that she was bandaged up.

She tried to open her eyes, but that same blinding light forced her to close them. Mentally cursing, she was glad to be more awake then the first time.

Still feeling too exhausted to really move, she settled on using what senses she has to find where she could be.

First smell.

And that was already a gold-mine of info.

The smell of food, real edible food entered her nose. She felt her stomach churn of hunger, worse than before. Groaning, she tried to go further.

Hum, leather underneath her head, something chemical and the last one… A sort of perfume?

' _Where am I?'_

Her mind tried to puzzle it together, but the sudden feeling of something brushing over her hand made her body stiffen.

Oh, please don't let it be a rapist.

The feeling was cold, but a pleasant kind of cold. The touch was soft and… Caring? Not a rapist, thank god!

And as quick as it came, it vanished. She tried to reach out, but she could only twitch her finger.

Her mind told her how exhausted she felt, and before she realized it, she fell back asleep. More restful and pleasant.

* * *

Third time she wakes up, and this time her eyes finally are able to open. The light was gone, and as her sight focused, she registered what she saw.

A ceiling.

Yep, very useful, Ember.

She looked to her side and saw a flat-screen TV standing on a small table. She was lying down on a couch, and her head was resting on a jacket. The coffee-table between the TV and couch was scattered with a few empty glasses and one half-full glass of water. A few bandages and what seemed to be a few bottles with medicine and a tube of some kind.

Scanning herself, she found her left-arm in a sling resting on her chest. Her leg was bandaged, and her cuts were covered by patches, the green of old dried ectoplasm adorning the worst wounds.

Her clothes were ripped on a few spots, and her hair was no longer in its signature pony-tail. The burning was soft and rippled, reflecting her condition.

She felt awful, and pain was throbbing in her head, and she felt strangely warm, much warmer than usual.

' _Great, injured_ and _sick.'_ She sighs, but a groan follows after when she registers the pain in her chest.

Yep, add a broken rib to the list.

The blue-haired girl tried to get herself upright, but she finds she can hardly force her right-arm to move. Please don't tell me I'm disabled!

She groans, loud, but it was already night out, so whoever saved her -that doesn't sound embarrassing at all!- was most likely asleep.

But then the sound of a fridge opening caught her ear. She tried to turn herself to look, but she forgot about her arm for a split-second, and she hissed in pain as it hit the couch.

Footsteps come closer, and deep inside she feels something strange -is that fear?- boiling up.

They come closer and closer, until they are right next to her. Turning away from the couch, she followed the shadowy form up, until she was looking at where the guy's face must be.

The clouds outside opened up, allowing the moon to shine inside. The light engulfed the room, and she could identify the person who saved her.

And what a surprise that became to be!

"D-dipstick?"

"Ember."

* * *

Normally during the night, one would expect the lights to be out in an apartment. But, the lights in one specific apartment were on, lighting up the room.

Ember was still on the couch, but her head was now lying on a collection of pillows gathered against the armrest of the sofa.

"So, you saved me, huh?" Ember spoke after the long silence that had fallen over the guitarist after Danny had explained what had happened yesterday morning.

"You say it like that's a bad thing." He teased, his mind still a bit groggy, but rational enough to keep up with the ghost diva.

"Just… Trying to get everything sorted in my head."

"Okay."

And the silence returned. Both were deep in thought, and after a few tensive moments Danny decides that he needed to know.

"I guess that this time it wasn't 'just an argument'?" He asked nervously, using quotations in the air to pass the message over. She took a few moments, but eventually nodded.

"He'd had it coming for some time, though. He always complained, never did anything for me and he didn't even call me by my name. You try and live with a guy who always calls you 'woman'!" She explained, still wary of her voice. Danny had told her that he had two family members sleeping across the hallway, and one really needed her sleep after a long day.

"Yeah, figures." Danny agreed before taking a sip from his glass of water.

"What happened to that tin can anyways?" Ember decided to ask as she shifted a bit in the pillows, getting her head more comfortable with her hair sprawled like it is.

"I gave him a piece of my mind. It'll be a miracle for him to return with a new armor so quick. If he even has the guts to come back after our little 'talk'." Danny states, no remorse or guilt in his voice. That slightly surprised the ghost-girl. She always heard how reluctant he was to go full-out against ghosts who weren't able to handle it, like she. But he talks about it like there was no other way to it.

"Looks like you've grown some balls after all, dipstick."

"Don't get any funny ideas, Ember. Just payback for what he did. Oh, uhm, and sorry for, uh, your guitar."

She flinched, the memory returning to her mind. She took a deep breath, but it came out shakily, not like how she hoped it would.

"It's alright. I-I've got others." She tried to shake it off before the halfa noticed, but he seemed to have caught on anyways.

"But it was important, wasn't it?"

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" She fired back, her regular self shining through. Danny didn't flinch at the sudden outburst, and he knew that if she could react like that, she'll be fine.

Eventually.

"Sorry." She muttered, almost inaudible for the half-ghost. His head took a one-eighty to the blue-haired girl, almost unable to register what she had just said.

Did _the_ Ember McLain just _apologize_?

"Did you just…?"

"Don't you dare say that to anyone! Or I'll have your head." She grumbled, her normal spicy attitude back. He shook it off with a soft laugh, putting it to her exhaustion, and left the subject to rest.

After assuring that she was going to be okay, with Ember reluctantly letting him check her wounds, he finished his glass of water before 'hitting the hay' as Ember would put it.

' _I'm starting to sound more like her.'_ He mutters in his mind as he slumped into his bed.

* * *

"Ember."

"What?"

She opened her eyes, adjusting to the light pouring into the room. She scanned the area, her eyes falling on the red-head standing at the edge of the couch, a plate with eggs and bacon in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

"Hungry?" The girl asked. It took a few moments, but the diva finally recognized her as the Phantom's human sister. She simply nodded as she got a bit more comfortable in the couch. She flinched at her arm as it hit the sofa, again.

"I had to put a lot of force to get it relocated." Jazz states as she puts the plate and glass on a small table next to her. She eyed the ginger-head for a few moments before shrugging and she turned to eat her food.

After some time, Danny was next to wake up, entering the room with one hand rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He greeted his sister as she put a plate on its regular spot for the halfa. He notices Ember eating her food, and had to tear his eyes off her to focus on his own food.

Lastly was Danielle, who slowly walked into the room, holding a stuffed ghost in her arms. She yawned as she entered.

"Morning sweetie." Jazz greets from the kitchen as she prepared the last two plates.

"Mornin' Aunt Jazz." The little girl managed to say between two yawns. As she walked to the table, her eyes caught the blue hair from the diva moving. Curious, she went to check, and was pleasantly surprised (and suddenly a lot more awake) to find the blue-head eating.

"Ember, you're awake!"

"Sure am, kiddo. But what are you doing here?"

"Dani's my daughter." Danny said as if it was the most normal of things in the world. The pop star shot up a lot straighter, a surprised expression on her face.

"You adopted her, dipstick?"

"Technically, because she was made with Danny's DNA, she really is his daughter." Jazz explained as she put the last of breakfast on the table. Danielle didn't need to see the hint and she rushed to the table, grabbing her toast and digging in.

"Not bad meant, but aren't you a bit too young to be a pops?" Ember asked, genuinely curious. She had met Danielle a few times when she went with Danny, her dad apparently, and the diva really liked the kid. When she heard the little girl's back-story, she only grew in respect for both halfas. _'No kid should ever have to face that.'_

"If this was a normal family, maybe. But we aren't, so I don't see the problem." Danny spoke between bites. He was very well aware how strange it might sound. A 17 year old taking care of a ten-year old.

Ember could only agree, although she didn't voice it, as she slumped back into the couch, the sudden jolt of pain from her arm reminding her that she wasn't healed yet.

An hour later, and Jazz was getting ready for work. She had to work during the weekend seeing as her studies were in the week. She put her keys away and made a last mental check before opening the door.

"I'm off!" She called before closing the door. The routine was normal for the two Fentons, so calling back wasn't even needed anymore.

"Where's Red going?"

"She works in Amity Mall in a clothes store. I can't offer the luxury of a job, unless you take my fights with ghosts as a 'job', so she has to pay for the bills. Besides, it's her apartment, I'm only allowed to live here along with Dani." Danny explained as he flipped through the morning paper. A habit his dad had, he picked it up to keep an eye on suspicious things concerning Vlad. The head read about the attack from yesterday, and Ember cringed as she notices the way the picture showed how she was shot back by the blast from Skulker.

"That doesn't look pleasant." Dani notes from her seat as she notices the picture. Danny looked up from the paper with a questioning look, noticing how both girls are eying the paper's head. He turns it so he can see the picture himself and visible cringes.

"Ouch. Like that it even looks more painful."

"Don't remind me." Ember grumbles as she slums back into the couch. Her chest still feels terrible, and she's sure that that broken rib isn't healed yet. Her arm was at least already starting to feel better.

She scans the room for something to do and notices the book resting on the coffee-table. She reached out and grabs it before examining the title.

"' _Twilight'_? This yours, dipstick?"

Danny looks up from the paper and quickly examines the book. A smirk plays on his face as his eyes dart to his daughter.

"No, that's Danielle's." He states with a teasing tone in his voice. Said girl looks up from her homework and shrugs.

"You reading this shi-stuff?" Ember quickly corrects herself, and both halfas note this.

"I know, not everyone agrees with it. And, don't worry. I've heard worse curses."

Ember eyes the elder halfa, and he shrugs, used to the unique personality of his little girl. Mature yet young.

"You really aren't a normal family."

* * *

"So, how did the fight with Ember go?"

Sam her voice sounded through the Fenton Phone in his ear. He was about to answer, but the halfa was just able to avoid another blast from the ghost he was fighting right now.

"Didn't really fight. I had to save her from being evaporated by Skulker." He spoke through the mic, right after that firing a few blasts at the ectoplasm entity below.

"They were fighting, again?" Came Tucker's annoyed voice. He was the one who was the most concerned with those two their relationship.

"I think it was more like, one had dumped the other and the other got mad." He fired at point-blank, knocking the ghost in the nearest wall. Danny took the Fenton Thermos and sucked the ghost up before closing it. He checked the damage. Limited this time, a good sign.

"Ouch, that's got to hurt." Tucker voiced his worry, as small as it was.

"For Ember. I think that those two aren't going to get together any time soon." Danny states as he takes off from the street. They were doing their routine Sunday Patrol before the team had to deal with school and homework.

"Why, because they have such large ego's?" Sam joked from the other side of the line. Danny cringed, knowing that the diva would surely have made a snarly remark to that.

"More like, she's healing at our place for the next week."

"WHAT?!"

He flinched, the yells from his friends ringing through his ears now. Sure, he had expected some surprised reactions, but that was a bit more.

"You're letting that blue-haired diva stay at your place?" Sam asked. She knew that Danny sometimes made some bad choices, but letting _her_ sleep at his place?!

"Yeah, man. That's just asking for trouble."

"Guys. She's already stayed there for the night and the whole day. Everything went fine, she's not going to just try and kill me. We're past that point."

"Yeah, right. What if it's an act?" Sam interjected, growing a bit frustrated.

"Sam. I get it, you're worried. Remember last time we fought, for real? _I_ almost killed _her_!" Danny exclaims, growing frustrated himself. Inwardly he sighed, and a shiver rolled down his spine as he remembered that fight around a year ago. Already he had grown very strong then, and he was trying to get a hold of a few new powers. Ember tried the usual mind-control, but in the fight he had to call a halt when the halfa saw that she was almost at Death's door.

Again.

"You still blaming yourself for that?" Tucker asked, a bit worried for his friend. Everyone knew that Danny had that hero-complex and he often blamed himself for things.

"Maybe. But, that's beside the point."

"Danny, are you there?" Jazz her voice suddenly cut in. Her brother breathed out in relief, although he knew that Sam was going to continue the conversation another time.

"Yeah, I'm here. What's wrong?" He answered into his Fenton Phone.

"Ember causing trouble?" Sam asked, and at that moment Danny felt like he could break her neck.

"No, it's Ellie. She called from her friend's place, but only said that you had to come, fast!"

By the time Jazz finished talking, Danny was already heading to the house at record speed. The wind gushed past him, his ghostly trail swirling behind him with worry.

He arrived at the building in the town suburbs in less than 5 minutes. He landed on the ground and checked to see that no one was looking before transforming back to human. He walked to the door an gave a knock.

"Danny!"

That was Amy who shouted, but he couldn't tell from where. He noticed that no one was coming and instead chose to phase through the door and into the house. As he walks into the hallway, he immediately finds that there are holes and burned marks in the walls and on the floor and even on the ceiling.

"Kids!" He shouts as he starts looking through the house. The living room is trashed, the kitchen looks like a mess and the dining room is flipped upside down (not literally). The bedrooms were empty and the bathroom was flooded, with that the only place left is the backyard.

He charged through the unlocked door, a scowl on his face as he took in the situation.

Danielle was scooted in a corner, surrounded by her friends. Amy was the little girl with blonde locks and brown eyes. The little girl was wearing a simple green sundress and sandals. Jake was the boy with spiky black hair and emerald eyes. He had a black shirt and red jacket on and blue jeans with matching dark-blue sneakers. The two young ones were holding on to their friend, who had a determined and protective look in her eyes.

Danny silently praised her for being so strong as his eyes fell on the ghosts floating only a meter away from the trio.

The group that had once followed Freakshow. Even after they were freed, it seemed that he had an effect on them, the group becoming known as feared thieves. They stole anything they could grab, and knowing that the house they were at, Amy's house, belonged to a wealthy family, it was no surprise they had come here to steal. Too bad they stumbled across the kids.

One was about to fire an ectoblast, but Danny was faster, blasting them into the ground. He made his way to stand in front of the trio, arms spread wide to protect them.

"Daddy!" Dani called in relief, her friends allowing hope to come to their features. Both were a bit shaken by the sudden attack, but were fine otherwise.

"Stay back, they're mine!"

The signature white ring appeared around Danny's waist, and it enveloped him, revealing Danny Phantom in his place. He bared his teeth and his hands glowed a menacing green, the ghosts who had attacked them mere minutes ago without mercy now cowering in fear.

"Never hurt my daughter and her friends, you hear!" He shouted before firing a blast from his hands. One ghost was too late to dodge and he was hit, flying across the lawn and into the picket fence around the backyard.

"Sorry." Danny muttered to Amy as she and the others stood up. She gave a shaky but still reassuring smile.

"It's okay." She spoke with a gentle and kind voice. Even after being attacked by a group of ghosts, she still kept her sweetness.

"No biggie, right Dani?" Jake spoke up, that spunk yet smart attitude from him clear in his tone. He was the smartest, but also cool kid. Dani suppressed the urge to blush and nodded.

Danny turned around, just in time to put a shield up and protect them from an ecto-blast. Lydia, supposed leader of the group, unleashed her tattoo-ghosts. The halfa smirked as he charged the shield around them before unleashing it, the energy bursting open and evaporating all the tattoo's.

They slowly backed away, and nearly jumped in the air at a scream coming from the house. Everyone turned to find a woman dressed in a white office-dress and high heels shaking on her legs, hand in front of her mouth to keep the rest of her scream back.

' _Oh boy.'_ Danny thought as he noticed Amy's parents, the Parksons, in the open backdoor.

"Get on you, and never come back! " Danny snarled one last time at the ghosts, and they quickly flew off. Everyone turned to face the now no longer shaking Mrs. Parkson and the fuming Mr. Parkson.

"H-hey mom, d-dad." Amy greeted, feeling a bit nervous with her friends around and Danny as Phantom only a few feet away.

"Amanda June Parkson!" Mr. Parkson called with a yell, fuming with anger, mostly because of how a mess the house was. "Come here this instance!"

Instead of listening, Amy quickly hid herself behind Phantom, clutching on to his leg and burying her face in the fabric of his suit. He was a bit surprised with her reaction, but understood that the girl was still a bit wary from the ghost-attack. He placed a comforting hand on her head, and felt the tension in her grip relax.

"YOU!" Mrs. Parkson suddenly sneered, her anger a volcano in comparison to her husband's. "Get your hands of MY daughter!"

Danny quickly complied with reluctance, but he felt that it only scared Amy more, her hands clutching the pants of his suit with a deathly grip. He was sure that, if it wasn't made to be so strong, the fabric would be tearing at her grip.

"Stop yelling, you're only making her more scared!" Jake shouted, growing angrier with the adults the more they scare his best friend. Both adults gave him a piercing glare, but he didn't back down, only becoming more confident in his position.

"Phantom saved us! Those ghosts were here to steal from you, he chased them away!" Danielle defended her father without actually revealing that detail. The Parksons seemed to relax, although little, and Amy's mother took a few shaking breaths before she was finally calmer.

"Thank you for protecting the children, Mr. Phantom. Now, if you will, you can go. Jake, your father is here to pick you up, and I know you can get home safely Dani." Mr. Parkson began with a much calmer voice. Danny peeled Amy from his leg and flashed her a reassuring smile. She relaxed and visibly calmed down, her shaking going away. Jake was already grabbing his backpack.

The friends bid farewell as Danny took off. He flew far enough away to be out of sight, and patiently waited until he saw Dani hiding behind a dumpster before going ghost. She flew up with her backpack ready and the two Phantoms left the scene.

Back in the house, the Parksons were trying to assess the damage.

Amy was shuffling with her feet, but when the looming shadow of her mother came into view, she steeled her body and soul.

"You know what's going to happen, right?" Came the calm and cold voice of Mrs. Parkson as she gazed at her failure of a daughter. Of course she would never reveal this in public, that would be a terrible thing for their PR.

Amy took a deep breath and looked up, the fear clear in her eyes but always covering the harsh steel of her soul. She closed them before the inevitable came.

SLAP!

* * *

The sun was starting to set, the horizon bathing in the beautiful pallet of color.

Dani her eyes were fixated on the scenes outside, the girl watching cars drive by as people came home to family and friends.

Diner had just been finished, and the two older Fentons were right now cleaning the dishes. Ember was sitting upright in the couch, her arm still in a sling but already some of her cuts and bruises healed. Jazz had been kind enough to buy the teen a book about music, and she took it with minimal show of her gratitude.

Of course Danny was able to see behind that mask, having seen the ghost in her worst, and could see that she was very happy with the gift.

After some time, Danielle grew bored with the sights and jumped from the window sill. She sneaked over to the back of Ember and was preparing to jump her. With one good push from her legs and a lung forwards, she jumped, only for Ember to suddenly turn intangible and for the young halfa to roll over the couch and end up face-first into the pillow resting against the armrest.

"Nice try, kiddo." Ember comments as she turns back and focuses on the book on her lap.

"But that's no fun!" She cries in mock-annoyance. Danny entered from the kitchen and ruffled the girls hair, eliciting a playful "hey!" from the halfa.

"Ember needs to heal, Dani. Jumping on her won't help."

"Making me laugh does." She quickly comments, a smug look on her face.

"You didn't even crack a smile!" Danielle pouts as she stomps her foot on the sofa.

"Inside I did, little bud."

It took a moment before she caught on what the ghost implied, and a small smile came to her face before she jumps down from the couch. Taking a moment to think, the young halfa leaves to her room, going so far as to phase through the walls instead of taking the door.

Danny turns back to look at the pop star, noting how engrossed she seems to be in the book.

"Is it a good one?" He asks as he takes a seat in the couch. She looks up from the pages, and this time the diva actually does smile.

"Honestly, yeah. Never dreamt of the day I could enjoy a book. You're rubbing off on me, Phantom."

"Fenton. Like this, I'm Fenton." Danny corrects as he gestures to his human form. The smile the ghost-girl sported turns to a frown at that.

"Whatever, dipstick." She murmurs before turning back to the book.

"Danny!" Jazz calls from the kitchen, phone in her hand. Her younger brother stands up from the couch and turns to her as Jazz enters the living room.

"Yeah?"

"Tucker called. He said they got all of them."

"Good. I'll go and take a look." Danny said before walking to the chair at the dining table and grabbing his coat. Temperatures were dropping, and even though he has an ice-core, it still felt cold in his human form.

"Look at what?" Ember asked as she turns around, her attention no longer on the book, but now on the half-ghost. Danny gave her a smug look before doing a zipping motion in front of his mouth. She glares at him, but he can see that she won't do anything about it.

With that he tells Danielle he's off before leaving the apartment, closing the door behind him.

"You know what dipstick is up to?" Ember decides to ask to the ginger-head.

"Don't know. But knowing my little brother, he'll have something good planned." She explains before heading back into the kitchen. She still has dishes to wash.

The pop star turns back and tries to read the rest of her book but for some reason she can't keep Phantom out of her head.

' _No, he said it's Fenton when he's human. Wait, since when do I care?'_

* * *

The sun was already gone, the moon shining bright in the sky when Danny came back to the apartment. He closed the door without making a noise and tiptoed to the dining table. Putting his jacket away, he was about to leave to his room when an eerie blue light shone on his back.

He turned around and found that the source was the fire from Ember's ponytail, the girl standing in the corner of the living room with her arm crossed, hovering slightly over the sling where her other arm was in.

Her expression was blank, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't read anything from it.

"What did you do?" She asked, her voice cold and collected. Okay, this really is unlike her.

"Like I said, to take a look."

"Take a look, my arse! What were you really doing, Fenton."

"I can't tell you." Danny tried to get away from the possible threat. He always acted calm around her, but seeing her like this was starting to scare him.

"Why not? Because you don't trust me? Because I'm a ghost? Why, dipstick, why? I can tell, no one here trusts me. Then why am I even here?"

"Ember, I-I just can't…" He rubbed his neck as he tried to get a good explanation, but he fell short.

"Why, Danny?"

His head shot straight and his heart skipped a fearing beat. She _NEVER_ called him by his real name. Ever. The hurt and pain in her voice, the betrayal in her eyes. Now he realized. She had been trusting them the entire time, but none of them returned that trust.

"Fine, you want to know?"

"Very." She states, trying to keep herself composed. She had been questioning her trust in them ever since they didn't show it back, even though they tried to hide it behind jokes and banter. Even Danielle seemed a bit wary of the diva, and that had been the last nail.

"Fine. I asked Tucker and Sam to got to the park and search the spot where you and Skulker had fought. I told them to try and find the pieces of your guitar. And guess what, they found them, all of them! Tucker is spending the entire night right now to try and fix it whilst I had to take a trip through the Ghost Zone and gets some materials for him to use! Now happy?"

She was gaping at him, her mouth hanging open and her mind turning around like a Ferris wheel. She heard the honesty dripping from his words, and his expression showed that he felt offended by her sudden distrust.

They did show their trust, fixing her guitar was that show.

What and idiot she has been.

"I-I… I'm… I'm sorry… I-I didn't know that you would… go so far for me. I mean, we've always been enemies, and I just thought that, well, you didn't trust me?"

"Ember, ever since I almost… _Killed_ you, I've always been more careful with things. I know we're supposed to be enemies, but I'm really starting to question that as of late. Enemies normally don't trust each other, so the fact that we trust you and you trust us makes this, well, complicated." Danny explained as he motioned for her to sit. She complied, taking in what he's telling her. She felt that he was right in a way. They trusted each other, enemies don't. The last time they've really fought fist to fist without anything between seems so far ago already.

"I get where you're coming from, dipstick. Honest. But, what would the rest think if they find out that we're not, well, enemies anymore?" She asked, growing concerned. She wasn't sure about ditching Phantom as her enemy, but if she would then what about the friends she has in the Ghost Zone? Sure, Kitty goes along well with them, and she already stopped viewing them as her enemies and actually started calling them her 'friends'.

' _Could I become a friend for them?'_

She honestly doesn't know.

* * *

 **Author's note: Alright, that is chapter 2. Man, getting Ember's personality right is very hard. But, I'm getting there. Anyways, remember to review, fav and follow and I'll see ya'll real soon!**


	3. Ch 3 : Graving Chances

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights on Danny Phantom or Nickelodeon.**

* * *

Running.

Fire.

Burning wood.

Ashes falling down, raining on the ground.

Darkness.

No hope.

A melancholic tune is playing in the background.

Fire consuming dreams.

Running, trying to get away.

' _My dreams, burning away, going up in flames.'_

A guitar, purple with blue flames.

It's crushed, breaking in pieces before burning up in smoke.

' _My life, a disaster. No love, no care, nothing.'_

Running, a corner.

Stuck.

Turning to face the fire, it reflects in the eyes.

Green eyes.

Blue fire, flaring up.

Die.

Die.

' _Die.'_

…

I died…

' _Danny!'_

* * *

Ember shot up with a gasp, breathing heavy, sweat coating her body and soaked into her clothes. She clutches to the spot where her heart would have been, but she feels nothing.

' _Of course, I'm a ghost, stupid.'_

She takes deep breaths, calming herself. The scenes from her dream play through her head and she sighs.

It's that same time of the year again.

Death-day.

' _Brilliant.'_ She allows her breath to leave, her fiery hair finally calming down. She looks around and remembers.

She's staying with that dipstick.

She flinches as her hand touches her shoulder. Her arm was no longer in a sling, but her shoulder still stung as hell. Finally calmed down, she drops down on the pillow, her blanket halfway over her body. She doesn't move it, allowing the coolness of the December air to clutch her body and suppress the warmth from her fire-core.

Since when has she started to enjoy the cold so much?

Ember looks at the digital clock on the wall.

4:21 AM. Great, far too early to get up, but too late to try and get some more sleep without risking another nightmare.

She phases through the blanket and floats through the room, taking a seat at the dining table. She rests her head on the table, her arms sprawled out. She bits her tongue as she feels the sting from her shoulder, protesting against the movement.

' _Why?'_ She thinks, her hair faltering with every time she thinks back to the dream.

She hates Death-day. To many memories, too much…

Pain.

Suffering.

Emotions.

' _I'm a ghost, yet I feel all these human emotions, why?'_

Looking up from the table, she looks through the window to see the moon preparing to set over the skyline. The light cascades into the room, putting an eerie glow over everything.

You would almost think that the entire place is haunted.

' _With me around, it is, right?'_

She chuckles, but there is only bitterness and malice.

' _Like anyone thinks about_ me _.'_ She thinks bitterly, her mind going back to her oldest and faintest memories. From before her death. From her life.

' _Is it really a life if it felt like I was living in hell?'_

Dropping her head on the table, a groan escapes her. She checks the clock and wants to bang her head on the wooden table.

4:31.

Time is not in her fortune today.

* * *

Morning came far quicker for the Fentons in the apartment. Danny was the first to wake up, surprisingly, and he quickly started making breakfast. Jazz followed afterwards, and after another ten minutes of patience, the boy halfa left to wake up his daughter.

Danielle looked worse than in the weekend, when she can sleep longer. Her hair was a mess, and she was yawning almost all the time. When she walked into the living room, Ember couldn't stop the herself from laughing, the scene far to comical. Even Jazz agreed with the blue-haired ghost that it does look funny.

Danielle responded by shooting a small ecto-ray at Ember's behind and giving a harsh glare to her aunt.

Yep, don't mess with a grumpy Danielle in the morning.

After a quick morning shower and getting Dani more awake, the two Phantoms were ready for their day in their respective schools.

"Jazz, you think you can pick up Danielle from school? I don't want to risk anything with the increased ghost-activity in town." Danny asked as he put the little girl's backpack on her back. Jazz gave him an apologetic look before answering.

"Sorry, bro. I've got the later studies today. Can't you?"

"I'm going over to Sam's place today for a project we have to work on as a group." Danny explained as he took an apple from the fruit-bowl on the kitchen counter.

"Can't she come here?" Jazz asked, putting the last of the dishes away.

"Sam her parents are very strict, and they don't trust me enough to let her go with me." Danny explained, his voice showing how he thought about the goth's parents. He had to suppress a growl from leaving his mouth.

For the first time in ever, Ember was able to understand the goth a bit. Parents like that aren't nice to have. She had heard about Danny's parents and their hunting, but they didn't know that Phantom was in truth their son, so you couldn't blame them that much either.

"So, no one can pick me up?" Danielle asked from the hallway at the door. Danny and Jazz shared a worried glance, and for the first time in forever Ember found her doing something she hasn't done in a long time.

"I could go and pick the little bud up from school."

Helping people.

All three the apartment's residents turn to look at the ghost. Danielle with a hopeful look on her face, Jazz with a collected and calculating look and Danny with a surprised look.

"You would do that?" The boy halfa asked, very much surprised but also a little bit proud with the ghost-diva. Could it be that they're rubbing off on her so much?

"Sure, I don't see much of a problem in it." She said, her voice not showing anything of worry, or a different motive. Jazz shook her head, snapping from her thoughts.

"Well, if it's alright with Ellie…"

She couldn't even finish her sentence because the little girl had thrown herself into the blue-haired girl a big smile on her face and a loud squeal escaping her. She hugged the pop star with excitement.

"Yes, please!" She said the first part to Jazz and begged the latter part to her dad. The two siblings shared a last look before the oldest sighed and nodded and Danny gave her a happy smile.

"Sure, Ember can pick you up."

"Thank you, daddy!" Danielle exclaims as she hugs her dad. A real smile is able to appear on Ember her face at the sight of the two halfas. A true family.

' _Different from mine.'_

Her smile falters a little bit as that thought passes her mind.

' _Family, huh?'_

* * *

"Bye!"

"See you tomorrow!" Jake calls back as he leaves on his bike with his father riding next to the boy. Danielle waited for a few moments before they disappear behind a corner. Satisfied with today's school-day she walked along the edge of the wall separating the playground from the road.

"Hey, kiddo."

She looked up, her ghost-sense having picked up the pop star's presence a few minutes ago. A big smile adorned her face as she watches Ember landing in the pavement of the street. The ghost rock-star has a smile of her own as she adjusts the guitar on her back.

Wait, guitar on her back…

"You've got your guitar back!" Dani cheers as she looks up to the blue-haired girl. Ember nodded, not trying to hide her happiness this time.

"Yep, the friend of your pops brought it to me a few hours ago. Honestly, I'm glad to have it back." Ember said as they started walking down the street. It was more than an option for them to fly, but it seemed nicer to walk back. Enjoy the view on the way.

As they walked, none was aware that it wasn't just Ember that had set off Dani's ghost sense. The shadow lurked over the rooftops of the buildings, eyes following intently as the figure followed the duo.

After some time, the shadow closed the gap, now lurking behind them, using the buildings and alleyways as hiding spots. It floated, so no footsteps were heard.

But it didn't know that both had experience with these silent stalkers. Dani had started to tense up when her eyes caught a slip from the figure. She stayed silent, gauging its intentions. She saw it a few more times, and knew it was following.

"Ember…" She whispered, getting the diva's attention. She nodded.

"Yeah, I saw him too. Don't show you know."

So, the pair kept walking. They took a few turns, going the complete other direction then they should. The figure kept following.

"On my mark, run and hide behind something. Turn invisible and don't act, whatever happens." Ember spoke under her breath. Dani nodded as she looked ahead, already scanning for places to hide. Both their eyes fell on a nearby alleyway blocked by a trash-container. A perfect spot.

"Now."

Dani took off, sprinting ahead. Ember turned on her heels and took her guitar out. She strummed the strings and a shockwave blasted out. The shadow phased into a building, the attack missing, and it came out from the second story.

"Show yourself, creep!"

The shadow obliged, revealing itself in the sunlight.

"Great, Bullet, right? Aren't you one of Walker's goons?" Ember spoke in annoyance. She had heard about the ghost's presence when Walker tried to take over Amity Park.

"And you're Ember McLain. Do tell, where did that kid go?" Bullet spoke as he pulled out one of his blasters. Ember frowned. He wasn't going to wait around for an answer any time soon.

"Sorry, can't do. Maybe you'd like to hear this!" She hit the cords, unleashing a green ecto-fist into the ghost's direction. He fired his own attack, and the two clashed in mid-air, exploding outwards. She skids across the pavement, digging her heels in the ground. Bullet was blown back, dazed.

She smirked and turned the knob on her guitar. Playing a strong note, she fired her skull beam. It hit target, causing Bullet to disappear into the sky.

"I-Is he gone?" Dani asks as she phases through the trashcan. Ember walks over, putting her guitar back, before giving the little girl a soft smile.

"Yep, and I'm pretty sure he won't be coming back any time soon."

"Thanks, Ember!" Danielle comes out of her hiding spot and hugs the teen-ghost. At first a bit surprised, the diva quickly softens before crouching down to give the girl a hug herself.

' _This actually… feels, well, good.'_

* * *

"What would Bullet want with me? Heck, what would Walker want with me?"

Danny passes around the table for the for the hundredth time now. Jazz rolls her eyes with the way her younger brother was acting, but Dani was looking at her father with concern.

"Ugh…" Ember groans before standing up from the sofa. She walks in the boy's way and stops him by grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him a bit.

"Get a hold of yourself, Phantom! Running yourself through the floor isn't going to solve anything!"

Danny looks in Ember's eyes, and he can see that beyond her mask, she's worried too. He sighs before resigning himself to sit on the chair behind him.

"I know. I'm just worried. I know Walker, and I know that he can be a real danger to Dani, if not the whole town!" He throws his hands in the air before slumming in the chair.

"I can fight!" Dani exclaims as she goes to stand on the sofa, a confident look in her eyes.

"We know, sweetie. But your pops here is just being overprotective. Shut it, baby-pops, it's true." Ember shuts Danny up before he can make any protest against her statement. After a few moments he realizes she's right and sits upright before putting his head in his arm, resting on his knee. The gears in his head are turning.

"Maybe Clockwork knows." Jazz proposes. Danny was about to make a notion on that, but Ember beat him to it.

"He probably does, but won't say it because of some kind of timeline-shit and other stuff."

The college student retreats to lean against the wall, her own thoughts about Walker and his reasons.

"Where did you send Bullet?" The boy halfa asks. Ember rubs her neck, a sheepish chuckle escaping her.

"I, eh, kinda shot him into space."

Everyone groans.

"Hey, I didn't want him to get his undeath hands on little bud, okay?"

"We know, Ember, and I'm really grateful for that." Danny starts as he stands up from his seat. He places a kind hand on her shoulder, surprising the blue-haired girl for a moment. "I think we're all just a bit tense after a long day."

The diva relaxes and she nods her head, understanding that logic. Her eyes glance over to the clock and she sighs.

"I'm going to take a breather, you gonna be okay?" She turns a questioning look to the boy.

"Yeah, I think we'll be fine." Danny smiles as he takes his hand off her shoulder. Ember mentally frowns at the sudden loss of that comforting coolness from the halfa's hand. She shakes her head a little before turning intangible and fly away through the ceiling.

"Somethings been bothering her, I could tell. She was the first awake this morning." Jazz states when she's sure that the ghost-diva is gone. Her brother nods his head, the boy having noticed the same.

"Maybe it's because today's her death-day?" Dani thinks out loud. The two older Fentons turn their head to look at her quizzically.

"Death-day?" The siblings ask, a bit confused now. The girl gives them a 'are you kidding me' look before sighing as she sees that they really don't know.

"It's the day that person died? When they became a ghost? I could see she wasn't happy with that stupid ghost bothering her. Normally you leave a ghost alone as much as possible on their death-day." The little girl explains, surprising them with her knowledge.

"How do you…" Danny began, now really confused.

"Know? Something Vlad taught me. At least he gave me good lessons." The girl states with no emotion on her voice. That shut any further inquiries from the two, both knowing that her life as Vlad's 'daughter' isn't a pleasant subject.

After about half an hour of simply allowing the silence to accompany them and think on the subject of Bullet's appearance, Danny is already back to pacing the room, this time with a different worry in his mind.

"What's taking her so long?" He asks himself as he turns around to keep pacing. Ember has been gone for far too long now.

"It's a little trip to the cemetery." Dani argues as she looks up from her book.

"What if a ghost attacked her?"

"Can't. Cemeteries are neutral territory, no fighting allowed. It's like the Christmas truce, but then about a place, not a point in time." Dani states, her focus more on her book. Still, she had worries. She has started to grow fond of the pop-star diva.

"Seriously?! There are places I could go that are safe of attacks? Now, I suddenly feel very stupid." Danny exclaims as he stops in his pacing. Dani simply shrugs and Jazz gives him a deadpanned look, like it seemed so obvious. _'On hindsight, it really is.'_

Danny sighs, takes a few moments to think, and then a determined look comes to his face. Taking a little space, he focuses and summons that signature ring around him. Transformation done, he goes intangible before flying off, leaving his sister and daughter alone. Risky, sure, but he knew that they could fight for themselves.

' _Now, where is the Amity Cemetery again?'_

* * *

Flying through the air, knowing you're headed straight for the one spot that is considered a respected and sacred spot for ghosts had a strange surreal feeling to it, especially if you count the fact that people see a cemetery as a place not to go to with ghosts around.

As he reached the entrance of Amity Park Cemetery, he found it a bi eerie and almost scary as he looked past the iron bars of the fence around the edge of the cemetery. Taking a deep breath and transforming back (somehow, walking in as a ghost seemed very indecent as a half-human/half-ghost), he walked past the many graves and headstones. He wasn't unaware of how the place was like, he had some… Personal experience with the place.

He considered the time that Ember had been alive, and quickly found himself going to a section he knew pretty well. It was a bit more secluded, a small forest around the area, so he knew that there would be enough privacy.

A bit of evening fog had set up, and he couldn't really see if there was anyone around. His footsteps were muffled, and the birds were silent.

And then he heard it, a soft humming, a few sobs mixed in between. He was passing through the trees and bushes to catch little attention, his body going intangible there were a branch was or the bush became very thick-leaved.

He peered through, and found a shadowy figure in the distance. Walking out from his hiding spot, he closed in. The fog started to dissipate a bit, revealing the familiar figure.

Ember was sitting on her knees in front of two headstones. One was smaller than the other, and he could tell that the smaller one was a bit older. Her figure was shaking a little with some sobs, and as he walked around a bit, he could see her face better.

Tears were running down her face, her make-up running out at some spots. Her hair was hardly flaming, more just smoldering for the heck of it, lying flat against her back.

He has never seen her like this before, and something in his heart tugged, hard.

As if fate wanted to haunt him, a small twig snapped under his foot. Ember her head twisted to face him, and for a second her hair flared in anger. As her glaring wet eyes met his, she quickly deflated again, hair dropping and her glare vanishing in a flash.

"Hey, dipstick." She speaks up after a few tense seconds, voice breaking in the middle. All that fire and flare that he always saw the diva carry herself with was gone, and all that was left was a broken teen.

"Hi, uhm, am I intruding or-…?" He trailed off, not really sure how to handle this anymore. Why did he come here again?

"No, honestly," She answered for him, her voice soft. "I think I could use some company right now."

Danny came closer and chose to sit down on his knees as well, if only to show some decency. Now closer, he could finally read the tombstones. That is, the smaller one. The first one had a name, but it was scratched out.

"If you're trying to read the first, it says ' Amber McLain, loved daughter.'" Ember answers the unasked question. Danny his eyes widen a bit in realization.

"You're real name was Amber?"

"Yeah, I only called myself 'Ember' when I was playing the guitar." She answered as her hand brushed over the scratched part, her fingers lingering a moment over the section 'loved daughter'.

"Who did this, and why?" Danny mused as he eyes the scratches. A bitter chuckle leaves Ember as she finds a bit of humor in her damn, cursed luck.

"My dad, that's who. Desecrate the grave of your second daughter, because she's an utter failure." She states, voice laced with venom and decades of hate. And in it all, animosity to the man she hated the most.

"He's the reason for your hate of adults and rules, isn't he?" Danny asked, a wave of realization flowing into his head. The more he learns, the more he can see the reasons behind the ways Ember acts around people.

"Got it on the first try, baby-pop."

Danny nods and is about to let the silence fall when his eyes shoot open and dart to the second grave.

"Second daughter." He whispers as he read the second grave.

' _April McLain, dear little sister.'_

Oh… God.

"You… y-you had a sister…" He breathes, a sudden tension grasping his heart. A soft sob makes him turn to see that Ember her eyes are fixated on the grave, true sadness dripping from her eyes. Her hair seemed to deflate even more.

"D-died when I was 14. She was o-only ten, a sweet little bud. Stupid trucker who didn't wear his glasses on the road." She spoke, her voice strained and a bit hoarse. She seemed so tired, like she could just faint right here and now. He felt how the atmosphere around them darkened even more, coated with decades of sadness and grieve.

"Little bud? Y-you call Dani that." He says, another shock going through his head and into his heart.

"Yeah. You know, she-she really is a lot like her. L-like I see her in front of me, all over again." Another sob, deep and filled with grieve escapes the blue-haired girl. Danny takes a moment to gauge her, and finds that it was worth the risk. He wraps his arm around her back and pulls her against his shoulder, offering some warmth and comfort. She tenses for a moment, but his coolness envelops her body and she relaxes, feeling the comfort and condolences he's offering her.

"Did she…?" Danny starts after some silent comfort.

"No, she didn't. Guess she was happy with her life as it was. Still, w-when I died I really hoped I-I would see her again, you know. Up there."

Danny nods, understanding her well. He sighed, a few of his own memories from being here surfacing.

"You know, before I became a half-ghost, I already faced death once."

"Oh. W-what happened?"

"If it wasn't my sister Jazz who protected me from my parents their antics, it was my uncle, Terry. He was a good man, very kind and protective. My mom always said that I'm a lot like him. "He chuckled, but it held a bittersweet taste. "H-he died when I was ten. Lung-cancer, in his sleep. He was a happy man, s-so I don't think he became a ghost either."

Ember her eyes turned to look at her sister's grave. To know these things… Who has he ever told this?

"Do your friends know?" The question came before she even really thought about it.

"No, t-they don't. I never really talk about it… Not even Sam knows."

' _Wow, so even the goth chick doesn't know?'_

Silence fell again, but this time the air seemed lighter, the fog was clearing away. After a few moments, Danny retreated his hand. A shiver crawled down the ghost-girl's spine, like she suddenly was left to the elements.

He put his hands together and slowly opened them, his ice-ray coming out in a controlled fashion. After taking great care in the details, he finished his work. In his hands lies a rose made of pure ghost-ice. The ice at the top was so dense that it colored blue, almost letting it seem like a blue rose.

Danny started talking again as he placed the flower on April's grave.

"After my uncle passed away, I was very depressed. I didn't eat or sleep that much, heck I think it felt like all life was drained from my body. But, mom one day told me that those who pass away always stay with us one way or another."

He fashioned another rose in his hands, putting even more effort into making a small bouquet.

"I always thought she was talking about ghosts. But now, I know what she meant. We will always remember them, and with those memories we carry a piece of them with us. So, in a way they are still there, in our heart."

He finished the bouquet. Taking it in one hand and taking Ember's hand with the other, he brought her hand to hold the bouquet together with him. The diva had a small blush on her face as their hands touched. Slowly, they carry the blue ice-roses to lie on her own grave.

"As long as you never forget about those people who pass away, they're never truly gone."

As they let go of the bouquet, Danny takes his chances and takes Ember her hand in his. After a tense moment, she responds by intertwining their fingers. Laying their hands between them, both sit motionless as they gaze at the graves.

After a minute, Ember decides to break the silence.

"Thanks for being here, with me. I-I always had this weight in my chest whenever I left here, but this time, it's gone. I-I think you helped me a-accept the fact that she's gone."

A smile makes its way on the girl's face, a true, genuine, happy smile.

"So, thanks, Danny."

His eyes widen. For the second time, she's called him by his real name. He turns to look at her, and what happens next takes his breath away.

She plants her lips against his, eyes closed and a massive blush on her face. His mind is on pause for a moment, trying to wrap itself around what's happening. After some tensing, he relaxes into the kiss, making a few moves of his own against her soft lips. The halfa's hand lifts up to cup her cheek, allowing him to deepen the kiss a bit more.

After some time, they have the part for air. His hand is still holding her cheek, and she grabs it with her free hand, eyes closing as she leans into the cool feeling.

"I'll always be there for you, Ember."

"I knew you would say that. But…" Her smile disappears as a sad look overtakes her. She turns away from his hand, and her eyes look the other way.

"I'm a ghost, and you're only half-ghost. This… Won't work out."

"Ember…" Danny tries to reach out to her, but she turns intangible before softly flying up. She returns visible and offers him a last, sad smile before leaving.

Danny sits there, on his knees, hand reaching into the sky. As he looks back down, a single tear rolls down his cheek.

"But, I love you, Ember."

* * *

Tears fall down as she flies through the sky. Ember McLain, the ghost pop star that always wanted someone to love her, has just left the one person that really loved her, behind.

' _You deserve someone better. Someone alive, like that goth. Someone… Who hasn't done anything wrong. We're enemies, and will always be just that.'_

As she flies through the air, the diva is unaware of the danger looming from a building's shadow.

Suddenly, a net captures her. The electrical shock paralyzes her, leaving Ember at the mercy of the person who caught her.

"Let me out of this thing!" She yells as she tries to struggle against the net. Another shock makes her scream in pain. The strength is sapped out of her, her arms falling limp.

"Oh no, this time I'm taking what I want." A deep and cold voice speaks. Ember her eyes widen as she realizes who has just captured her.

"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me." She looks to the tall and big figure, revealing itself to be…

Skulker.

"Hello there, missed me?"

* * *

 **Author's note: And with that cliffhanger, I leave you to your cases. Do follow to see what next chapter is going to be, and remember to review and fav.**

 **I bid you a farewell and until next time!**


	4. Ch 4 : Jail Break

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, nor Nickelodeon. Check it, I don't.**

* * *

A letter was hanging on the door leading into Jazz her apartment. Danny takes a hold of the piece of paper and opens it. As he walks into the room, his breath hitches in his throat. Jazz and Dani look to the hallway to see the halfa walking inside, a distressed look on his face as he holds the paper in his hand, the part he's holding crumpling under his grip.

"Danny?" Jazz speaks up as she approaches her brother. Seeing the lines of dried tears on his cheeks, she can feel any good feelings seeping out of her body.

"He's taken her. He's got Ember." Danny breathes, his voice laced with fear and worry. His sister grabs the paper from his grip and reads it herself.

"Oh, no!" She gasps as she put her hand to her mouth. Dani tugs at her pants, but she doesn't notice.

"Daddy?" The little girl asks as her dad goes to sit in the sofa.

"Skulker has Ember." He answers the question he knows she has. The little girl grasps her mouth with both hands, trying to keep any sound from escaping.

Her dad sits to put his face in his hand. He wants to cry, but he has waisted every tear he had to the walk home.

"He wants you to try and safe her." Jazz deduces from the writing on the paper.

"In Walker's prison. Bullet wasn't there for Dani, he was there for Ember." The boy includes from between his hands. He was so used to him or Dani being the targets, he never considered Ember.

"W-what do we do?" The redhead asks as she puts the paper on the counter of the open kitchen. A shaky breath escapes Danny as he considers the options.

"It's a trap, obviously. But, what would they do with her if we wait too long? I-I can't just leave her. N-not after today."

"What happened?" His sister decides to ask. He takes a deep breath, shaken and filled with loathing and sadness.

"I-I… I think I'm in love with her."

Jazz pauses before she puts her hand on his shoulder, the reveal shocking her. Danielle gasps at the news.

Danny Phantom, in love with Ember McLain.

Now, wow.

That's a shocker.

"Oh, Danny." Jazz sighs as she puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. His breathing is shallow and filled with emotion.

"Daddy." Dani sighs as she climbs on the sofa. She gives him a sad hug, feeling with him. She's grown to like the diva. Hearing that your dad loves her, that really strikes a string in the heart.

As he looks up from his hands, he notices something shining in the corner of his eyes. He leans over and grabs the object. Opening his hand, his breath hithes as he finds the knob from Ember's guitar.

"Without this, her guitar, is useless."

"She is completely defenseless." Jazz realizes. The tension is growing as they all understand what she was willing to do for Danny.

She was willing to put her fighting away for him.

"Ember. What have you done?" Danny shakes his head as he clutches the knob. His heart is shattering, but deep inside a new resolve is growing. His emotions clump together, and his eyes narrow in determination. His anger seeps into his powers, and the love he carries takes the place of his heart.

Now is not the time to be sad and emotional. Ember wouldn't have let him, so he won't let himself be that either.

"Jazz, call Sam and Tucker. Find a way to get mom and dad out of the house, we're taking the Fenton Speeder into the Ghost Zone."

* * *

"A guitar without a piece, my, my, you really have been stupid, haven't you?" Walker muses as he puts the instrument back on the table. Lying on her knees, arms behind her and wrists cuffed to chains from the wall, Ember scoffs.

"I hope you're very happy with yourself, you asshole!"

"Silence!" He yells before lifting his hand and delivering a harsh slap against her face.

"We arrested you for a reason, Ember McLain. Your boyfriend, Skulker, was so cooperating to reveal every crime you've committed." Walker states as said ghost walks out of the shadows, a smug look on his face.

"Skulker, you idiot. You escaped this place, why help the guy who tried to imprison you?!" Ember yells as she lungs forwards, stopping as her chains reach the max length and she stumbles back down on her knees. Her face shows pure rage, yet inside that gaze is a heart that is broken.

"Because, Walker was so kind to let my charges fall if I bring you here." The armored hunter explains, his voice showing just how happy he is with himself for a victorious hunt.

"You're crazy." Ember utters as her head starts to hang, her energy spent, and her resolve broken. Her ponytail starts to flicker down, the once powerful burning fading away, along with her strength. A single sob is able to escape her.

"Oh, this is something new. The great Ember McLain, crying? When did this happen?" Walker muses as he grabs the blue-haired girl her chin and lifting her head to look at them. Her eyes are bloodshot, trickles of dried tears streaming down her cheeks. Her tears were spent, but she still sobbed, muffled sounds, but in the silence of the room echoing through the air.

"Maybe you should have stayed with me, huh?" Skulker states. She turns to look at him, and with a frown, she spits at him.

"Sorry, but someone else caught my heart."

"And crushed it in the process, isn't it? I can see that you're heartbroken." Walker says, an amused tone to his voice. She glares at him, but the real force behind it is lost in her mind, thoughts jumbled up by emotion.

"Let's leave her be. Maybe the whelp has decided to come." Skulker speaks up as he starts walking to the exit. Walker nods before following, the one to close the door. Ember slums to the ground, sobs carrying in the air as her mask falls.

And then a strike of realization. She looks up, fear and worry gripping her.

' _Whelp… But he only calls Danny like that… No… No! They told him where they took me! He's coming this way.'_ She thinks, her hands trying to grip her head but falling short with the chains pulling them back.

' _If he even wants to save you. After all, you're the one who broke his heart.'_ Her subconsciousness speaks up. Sadness grips her as the scene replays in front of her. That look in his face. Like his heart was ripped out.

' _And I grabbed it and stomped on it with good measure.'_ She loathes bitterly. Everything she did to him, everything he did for her, it plays in her head.

She screams. A scream filled with sadness, hate and loathing, bitterness and pure heart-broken love.

* * *

Sam cocked the ecto-blaster in her hand, a determined look on her face. She put it over her back before going to the table where all sorts of weapons were gathered.

Tucker types away on his PDA, making sure the Fenton Speeder is ready. He has a wrist-blaster on, and another blaster ready around his waist.

Jazz puts the Fenton Peeler away and grabs the Jack-o-nine for good measures. A special fighting stick is on her back, the ends made of two ectoplasmic blades.

All the while, Danny is floating in the air, gathering his thoughts and preparing himself for this, both physically and emotionally.

They had been able to get his parents off with the news that a ghost had been spotted in the park. At least they'll be far enough away o not catch them enterin or leaving. They hope.

"I can't believe we're going to save that damned pop-star." Sam says as she puts the last weapon she needs away. Danny his brow twitches a little, but with a deep breath he calms his nerves. Those two might never get along well.

"You do know that Danny can hear you, right, Sam?" Tucker his voice comes from inside the Fenton Speeder.

"Exactly." The goth states with some smugness in her voice. Danny his hand flexes a little, stuck between relaxing and making a fist. _'Sam, for your better health, stop talking.'_

"Sam, I think he means that you shouldn't push my brother's buttons. He can be dangerous when angered." Jazz defends the halfa as she walks to the speeder.

"Yeah, like he could do anything." She mutters, unaware that he heard her. He tries to calm himself down, but it was very difficult. "What if she's only using him."

That was it, the last drop in the bucket. As Sam turns around from the table with weapons, the goth suddenly stops and gulps as she finds her face right in front of a glowing ball of ghost-energy.

"Shut up, Sam." Danny growls between his teeth, every part of him keeping himself in control. She puts her hands up in defeat and he breathes in deep before releasing the energy.

"I rest my case." Jazz mutters as she steps into the vehicle. Sam quickly joins her, wanting to be as far away as possible from the angry halfa. _'What's his problem?'_ The goth thinks as she sits down in the front-seat.

The doors of the Fenton Portal open, revealing those swirling green glows that show the entrance to the Ghost Zone. The Fenton Speeder is the first to enter, an agitated and grumbling Danny Phantom following after.

* * *

The group halts behind a floating piece of rock. In the distance is Walker's Prison. Guards were floating everywhere, the place looked like a real fort.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Tucker asks as he looks up from his PDA. Jazz and Sam look at each other before speaking.

"Didn't Danny have a plan?" They say together. A soft chuckle comes in through the Fenton Phones.

"Seriously, guys? You always expect me to come with a plan?" He asks, a bit exasperated. As they all murmur agreement, he can only slap his face with his hand, a deep sigh escaping him.

"Hey, you were locked up in her once." Sam counters. Danny scoffs as he remembers those days.

"Yeah, two and a half years ago." The boy counters as he turns invisible to get a better look without being spotted. The massive steel front-gate wasn't an option, obvious. Flying in like this either, they would be outnumbered in seconds and overmastered in minutes. He grumbles as the options start to wear thin.

And then he saw it. A rock with a small cave in it. It floated ahead carelessly, not a single one of the guards paying it any attention. Praising his luck, he motions for them to follow. As soon as the rock passes by he quickly flies inside, the speeder following. The cave is big enough for him and the speeder, and dark enough to hide the white machine (thank god).

The rock flies through the many groups of guards, only a few every letting a quick eye glance over the object. None saw the big vehicle hidden inside and he half-ghost floating next to it.

As it slowly flies over the courtyard inside, Danny does a quick check to see that no one is around. The ghosts that were imprisoned were inside, and the guards were more focused on the outside. Deeming the coast clear, he flies into the courtyard and finds the shed he knew normally was filled with junk and stuff. Opening the large doors, the Fenton Speeder flies inside and he joins them. Closing the door, he listens to see if anyone heard them. Deeming everything safe, he let a deep breath out before landing on the ground.

The other three of Team Phantom walked out of the speeder, harnessing their weapons and battle-ready looks on their faces.

"Okay, now step two." Danny muses as he starts walking around. The shed was standing against the prison, but there wasn't a door leading into the building. He shakes his head with slight exasperation before turning back to human. The others give him puzzled looks, and he responds by passing through the wall.

"Right, Ghost Zone, humans are the ghosts here." Jazz realizes the first before following her brother. Sam and Tucker quickly join her. As they pass the wall, the four find themselves inside an empty cell. The bars were normal, and they pass through I easily.

Looking around the compound, they found only a few guards flying around. They hid inside the shadows, and sighed as they see that none had seen them.

"Phantom?"

They turn around, surprised and worried as they face the ghost inside the cell they had been hiding next to.

Youngblood, the ghost-pirate, dressed in that old-fashioned black/white. He has a confused look on his face, but as he notices the weapons they have with them, it turns to a look of hope and worry.

"What are you doing here?" The pirate ghost asked, his hook motioning to the three others. "And why do you look ready for mutiny?

"Keep it down! Walker has captured Ember, and we're here to save her." Danny spoke in a hushed voice as he explained the situation. Youngblood his eyes widen when the halfa mentions the diva her name.

"Big sis Ember is here?" He asks with true concern laced in his voice. They all share surprised looks before turning back to the ghost-kid.

"'big sis'?" Danny questions.

"Yeah. We're both very alike, you know. I've always seen her as a big sister, even if she can be a real pain sometimes."

Danny nods, understanding that well. He knew that there must be more of a story behind this, but they have little time.

"You think you know where she might be?" Jazz askes whilst keeping an eye on the guards. The pirate-ghost thinks for a moment before his expression brightens. He nods before leaning in close to the four.

"Past the door, through the hallways right, is a big metal door. I saw it once, when they were bringing a real bad ghost inside. I bet that's where they're keeping big sis."

Danny nods in understanding before looking around. The guards were taking rounds, but kept a certain distance between. If they timed it right…

"Alright, once we get Ember, we'll need a distraction." Danny thinks further as his eyes are locked on the guards, doing some quick math in his head.

"How about, a break out?" Sam proposes. The three look at her, and can see some reason behind it. A break-out would really get the guards their attention, including Walker's.

"Hey, if you're planning a break-out, count me in!" Youngblood states as he grabs the bars with his good hand.

The three look at Danny, and he simply shrugs.

"Hey, this could really work in our favor, you know."

' _And maybe add an ally to our list.'_

* * *

Ember was hanging from the chains, her wrists most likely red and cut by now. The pain of those cuffs was bad, and her shoulder felt even worse.

But she didn't seem to care, her head low an her ponytail barely burning. They had kept her there for nearly two hours now, and she was starting to get hungry and thirsty. Her eyes were distant as they gazed at the floor.

Her mind was a mess, going back and forwards between things. And between it all, caught in the middle, was her heart (metaphorically speaking), along with her love.

That strange feeling of love, for Danny Phantom.

She has already long since her capture come to realization of these feelings. Debate about them was no longer there, only the fear.

Fear for their differences.

' _He's alive, half, but still with a heart. And I, I'm a ghost… Dead, no life and no chances. I live for eternity, he might not. Humans are fragile, he can die. And as the hero of Amity Park, he might die in a fight.'_ Her chest tenses and a knot forms in her stomach. She hasn't had this feeling since the day she died. Since the day _he_ left her.

' _We're enemies, always have and always will be. I-I can't love him! Yet, I do… and I… I-I want to be with him…'_

Suddenly, noise catches her ears. Not the noise from the guards or the ever-present sounds from the Zone, no, voices.

Familiar voices.

Human voices.

Voices that were getting closer.

And then, the closest one comes through into her hearing, loud and clear.

Danny.

' _He came!'_ A sudden jolt of happiness springs to life, but quickly dies when she realizes.

' _No, it's a trap! They came, and Walker will know!'_

And then, suddenly, four figures phase through the steel door, like it's nothing. Her eyes drift upwards, her arms limp at her sides. The chains are slack, but the cuffs still burn and cut in her wrists.

Before anyone realizes it, Danny is at her side, engulfing the diva in a hug.

"Thank god, you're alright."

"T-that might be the overstatement of the years, baby-pops." She manages to say with mild amusement and relief, her voice hoarse with the lack of water. Jazz joins them at her side, a clip from her hair in her hand and already going through the lock of the cuffs.

"Hurry up, I hear noises starting to come from the hall." Sam speaks up with a hushed voice, her ear against the door. She takes a chance to look through the door, and quickly pulls back, her face suddenly pale as a ghost (no pun intended).

"Sam?" Tucker asks, but his answer comes in the way of the door flying open, Walker and Skulker parading inside.

"Well, well… Looks like you took our little bait, Danny Phantom." Walker spoke up, the smugness dripping from his tongue. Both ghosts have devilish grins on their faces as they gaze at the four teens trying to free the pop-star.

"Walker… You and your little buddy will pay!" Danny shouts as he gets up from his spot next to Ember, his hands glowing softly with green energy. Sam gasps, noticing the green glow in his hands. _'But he's still human!'_

"Shut up, whelp. I'll make _you_ pay for taking my bitch!" Skulker threatened, a scowl on his face.

"What, but they aren't even…" Tucker started, but was cut off by Danny's cry.

He charged, blasts leaving his palms. Both ghosts were caught off guard by the unusual attack, and were hit in the chest, flying back into the hall. Sam quickly pushed the door shut.

"When were you going to tell us about this little trick?" She asked as the original trio gathered.

"And what does Skulker mean?" Tucker asked, putting his PDA away and turning to grab a blaster from his belt. Sam armed herself with two.

"Soon, and that's a long story." Danny answered fast. He took a battle-ready stance when noises filtered through the door. Jazz put more effort into the second cuff, the first already undone. Ember was trying to stay conscious, the pain from the cuts in her wrists and lack of food and water taking its toll.

"Going host!" The halfa cries as the white ring appears. Quickly transforming, he's already charging energy in his hands. The door flies open, and the trio starts firing away. Blasts from the two ghosts and the guards who had joined them matched in force and speed. Hits are made, and grunts from the ghosts show how close of a tie it is. Danny receives a few good blows, but he doesn't back down.

Jazz bucked, a blast flying over the redhead. She curses under her breath. A dry chuckle from Ember alerts the girl to the blue-haired ghost.

"Cursing… Really isn't y-your thing, Red." She manages to say, her eyes glassing over. The redhead's eyes widen in shock, and she quickly opens the last cuff. Ember topples over, and Jazz can just catch the ghost-rocker and hold her.

"Danny!"

The halfa flew up to avoid the blasts and looked back. He notices the state the pop-star is in, and something in his head snaps. A low grumble resonates in his throat as he flies between the two fighting forces. He faces the ghosts and takes a deep breath, really angry now.

"Cover your ears!" Sam yells as she ducks behind the half-ghost. Tucker follows, and Jazz carries Ember to the back of the room. The diva is able to cover her ears just in time.

Danny cries out, unleashing his Ghostly Wail. Green shockwaves plow forwards, blasting back the ghosts. Skulker slams into the ground, his armor cracking and breaking. Walker flies far back with his guards, slamming into the other end of the hall.

After a few moments, Danny stops, his breath spend, along with his energy. He transforms back into his human form and lands on his knees, hands stopping his fall. Taking deep breaths, he allows some of his energy to return.

"Let's go!" Sam yells as she grabs Danny by an arm and pulls him up. Tucker helps Jazz support the unconscious Ember, and with some effort they start running off, leaving the ghosts behind to groan in pain.

Going further down the hall, sounds of fighting fills the air. Reaching an open door, a guard is blasted through and crashes into the wall.

"Looks like the plan is working." Danny says, a tired smile on his face. Entering the room, it's all chaos. Prisoners everywhere, fighting guards. A hole had been blown into the wall, a very angry Technus fighting with a group of guards at the side.

"Run!" Sam yells to them. They nod, and start running through the chaos. Avoiding blasts and fallen ghosts, they quickly reached the hole.

"Wait up!"

Youngblood appears from the chaos, his trusty parrot on his shoulder.

"Hurry!"

They run (float in the ghost's case) through the hole and to the shed. Opening the door quickly, they reveal the Fenton Speeder. Helping everyone inside, the door quickly closes.

"Halt!" Walker yells as he and a few of his guards appear from the building. Skulker is in tow, but he seems bad for wear with his broken armor. His weapons wouldn't work, so he was useless.

The speeder took off, leaving only dust for the chasers. It's too fast, and quickly vanishes into the green of the Ghost Zone.

"They got away!" Skulker grumbles in anger. The warden ghost turns around, an even angrier expression on his face.

"Arrest him."

"Whoa, whoa, we got a deal, remember?" The hunter exclaims as he backs off from the approaching guards.

"That deal went down the drain the moment you're bargaining chip escaped."

* * *

They wander through the green environment, Sam focused on driving and Tucker on navigating. Jazz is in the back putting a few patches on Danny's cuts and bruises.

"H-how's Ember?" He wheezes out, his chest contracting with pain as she puts some dissinfective on a deep gash.

"She's sleeping. She had deep cuts in her wrists from the cuffs, and her shoulder was almost dislodged, again. They left her without water or food, and she was very tired. I can't believe that guy!" She voices her concern after explaining the diva's condition. Danny nods before wincing as she puts the last patch on.

"Next time, I'll…"

"Keep your threats for after you're recovered, brother. Now, all we need is a way to get home without our parents noticing."

"That'll be harder than expected, you guys." Tucker spoke up from the front. Danny gave her a puzzled look, and she frown before standing up. Walking into the front, she gasps at the sight.

The place where the portal normally is, now has a massive rock stuck in the opening of the portal.

"Guess, they didn't see that one coming?" Tucker said with half-amusement. Sam swats him on the shoulder.

"Ugh, probably dad working on some kind of invention… Is there a place where we can stay and rest until the portal is open?" Jazz asked, her exasperation with the situation shown in her annoyed tone.

"Clockwork is too far off, and so is the Far Frozen. We need a closer place to hide and rest." Tucker said as he looked up from the map on his PDA. Sam appeared deep in thought, but came out blank.

"What about Ember her realm? It's closest from here." Youngblood spoke up as he phased through the wall separating the front and back. The trio jumped a bit, but breathed in relief that it was only the pirate-ghost.

"You sure we can stay there?"

"Yeah, she always let me stay. Besides, it's pretty spacious if you ask me."

"Okay then, show us the way, pirate-boy." Sam said, deciding that it's the best they've got.

* * *

The speeder stopped in front of a wooden door floating around. Danny walks put, his arms around his two friends. He floats out of the speeder and stops next to the door. Youngblood appears with Jazz in his arms, a frown on her face.

"Not a word against Dani." She threatens against the three snickering teens. The pirate-ghost opens the door and enters. Danny follows and stands down on the ground, a surprised expression on his face.

"This.. Is not what I expected…"

The place was very simple. It had the appearance of an old eighties apartment. A staircase leading up meant it had more than one floor, and the living room was connected to the dining room and kitchen. Posters of Ember were scattered around, and a few guitars were hanging on the wall. A single green record adorned the living room. It read something about a singing contest in the Ghost Zone.

"It's actually pretty nice in here." Tucker observed as he sat down on the couch. Sam sat next to him, nodding her head, and Danny assured they were going to be alright before going back to the door.

"Rooms are upstairs, there's food in the fridge. And now, I'll be going." Youngblood quickly said as he put Jazz down and started making his way to the door.

"Where are you going?" The red-head asked, hands on her hips. The young ghost looked back, a sheepish smile on his face.

"I actually am not allowed in her realm for the rest of the month. Kinda blew up her room once."

The three teens give him a deadpanned look, and he simply shrugs before flying out of the door. As soon as he's gone, Danny walks in with Ember sleeping in his arms.

"What chased him off?"

They all groaned.

* * *

They were having a simple diner, not really knowing what they should do as they wait for Ember to wake up.

Sam was first to finish, and she quickly asked the question she wanted to know first.

"So, who's watching Dani?"

Danny and Jazz looked up from their food. The red-head rolled her eyes before eating again, leaving her brother to answer.

"We send her to Jake's place. His dad is a good man, and we know she'll be fine there. We said she was going to stay there for the night, so don't worry about tomorrow. Only of we don't come to pick her up by lunch will we have to worry."

She nodded, seeing logic there. Standing from her spot, she moves to the living room and flops into the couch with a soft sigh.

After some time they're all finished and now sitting in the living room.

"Sooo… About Skulker…" Tucker started, his eyes going to the halfa. Danny sighs, resigning himself to his fate. Taking a good breath, he starts with his explanation.

' _God help me now.'_

At the end, Tucker and Sam are staring at him wide-eyed, and Jazz has a more worried and thinking look.

"You're… In love with her?!" Sam exclaims, bolting to the edge of the sofa so she's close to the halfa standing in the room. Danny flinches back a bit, a shiver going down his spine at the tone she said it.

"Man, just, man…" Tucker says, the first time he's been left speechless in a long time.

"Come on, guys… Give me some slack here. Sam, you know very well how our relationship ended, and why."

"I know, it's just… She's your enemy, Danny!"

"Well, maybe I want that to change." Danny defended as he crossed his arms. He have the goth a simple glare, and she quickly shuts her mouth before angering him more.

"Dude, this seems so cliché." Tucker speaks up, finally finding his voice again. His two friends give him a 'really?' look, and he closes his mouth, knowing well that speaking was a bad idea right now.

"Personally, as long as it makes you happy, bro, I'm fine with it." Jazz offers, and Danny gives her a pleased look. At least someone supportive.

After some more talking and some questions from the trio to him, they all have to stifle a yawn from escaping.

"Guess it's best to go and rest." Jazz says as she stands up, a sudden yawn escaping her.

"Yeah, good idea." A tired Sam agrees as she and Tucker stand up as well. Danny nods his head, and they go upstairs. Danny already knew where he was going, and after making sure the others had found the guest room (that surprisingly has three beds), he left for Ember's room.

He opens the door and is welcomed by the sudden flood of posters and decorations on the brick walls. In the center-left is Ember her bed, a chair from a desk where her guitar was standing (yes, they had left it in the room where she was locked up and Danny managed to grab it when they left).

He sits down on the chair and lays his head down on the bed, resting on his arms. His focus on the girl sleeping under the covers, his eyes watched her flaming hair, that was already showing she was calm and recovering.

' _Good.'_ Danny thinks as his eyes start to drift closed. He doesn't fight it, and after some time falls asleep.

His dreams are filled with the possibility of him and Ember, together.

Just like those of Ember were about the half-ghost boy.

* * *

 **Author's note: I hope this came out good, these kind of plot-lines aren't easy for me. Fighting scens, aren't really my cup of tea.**

 **Anyways, remember to fav, follow and review, and until next chapter!**


	5. Ch 5 : Burning Hearts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or have any rights on Nickelodeon**

* * *

Normally, the first thing you feel when waking up is the soreness of your body after a whole night of no movement. Normally, you would try to get the sleep from your eyes and mind by sha&king your head a little.

But of course, when you're a ghost, nothing is normal.

But waking up hungry, thirsty _and_ sore?

Okay, that's new.

And so did the day start for Ember McLain.

Her eyes fluttered open, and the first thing she noticed is how empty her stomach is. She licks her dry lips, and her body feels terrible. Forcing her eyes open, she found the first thing showing she's no longer in Walker's Prison.

The massive poster of herself she had put on the ceiling above her bed.

Her bed…

With a groan she sits upright in her bed, eyes scanning the room. She's in her bedroom.

Was it all a… Dream?

"You're awake."

The diva her head snaps to the open door, finding Jazz standing in the opening.

"Red? W-what happened?" She manages to say, her throat dry and sore. She puts her hand on her head, a slight headache making its appearance.

"You were out cold when we got you out of the prison. Youngblood helped us find your realm, and well, we crashed here to rest." Jazz explained as she entered further, a platter with food and water in her hands. Ember her stomach grumbles, showing how hungry she is.

"That pirate-kid? I thought I told him to stay away from my house."

"You did, but it was the only way he could help us. The Fenton Portal was, uhm, blocked and we couldn't go back." The redhead says as she puts the food on her lap. The blue-haired girl doesn't need a signal to know, and she starts to eat, scarfing the food down.

"Where's Danny?" The diva is able to ask between bites. Jazz chuckles as her eyes drift to the other side of her bed. Following the girl's eyes, her own eyes widen as she finds the halfa, sleeping with his head on his arms at her side. _'How did I miss that?'_

"He stayed here all night, watching over you. Call me when he wakes up, I've got breakfast ready for him when he needs it." Jazz said as she started making her way back. Ember nods before going back to her platter, eating the rest of the food and emptying the glass.

After she's done, she moves the empty plate of her lap and turn to look at the boy resting at her side. A sad smile comes to her face, and for the first time in ever she sees him at peace. Real peace. Even on a calm day, he always seemed to have that edge to himself, like he's ready for an attack at any time.

"Oh, dipstick." She sighs as she makes her way out of bed. Her body still feels sore, and her wrists are wrapped up where the cuffs has cut her, but she needed some movement to get the knots out.

Doing some stretches, a groan from the bedside alerts her to the boy waking up. _'Well, guess he's also got enough rest.'_

Danny his eyes flickered open, and he lifts his head from the bed and his arms. Yawning a bit, he tries to focus on the room he's in. As his memories return from yesterday, his eyes drift to the bed, only to find it empty.

He shoots up and is about to look for her, but a soft chuckle makes him look through the room, his eyes falling on a snickering pop-star.

"Ember, you're awake!"

"Yeah, your sis already knew that. She said that she's got breakfast ready for you." Ember said with a casual tone as she pointed to the door with her thumb. The half-ghost took the hint, and left to let the girl get dressed properly.

' _And after breakfast, we'll have a talk.'_

* * *

"Where did Sam and Tucker go?"

"They went to the portal when it was back open to pick up Ellie. They'll be back in an hour." Jazz said as she moved out of the kitchen, her own food ready.

"Good."

Danny was seated in the sofa, letting his body rest and heal. He had eaten his breakfast already, and was now trying to pass the time. Ember was tuning her guitar, trying to keep herself busy.

Both didn't really feel like talking at the moment.

Jazz let them as she ate her breakfast. She knew that these kind of situations need some thought. And, after she would be done eating, she'd have to go and check on the others.

If only to give the two some privacy.

So that's what she did. After eating her breakfast and putting the plate with the rest of the dishes, she told them she was going to check on the others. Both asked how, and she simply responded by giving them a sly look before she closed the door behind her.

"She surely is your sister." Ember said with exasperation as she put her guitar down, not feeling like doing anything with it at the moment.

"Tell me about it." Danny said, a soft chuckle following. His sis really was a unique person, but he learned to appreciate this. If she ever would start acting 'normal', _then_ he would get nervous.

Silence fell. Not uncomfortable, but still very dense. Both could almost hear Danny's heartbeat slowly climbing with every passing second. Sweat rolled down their necks, and suddenly even the halfa felt warm.

After some time, neither could handle it.

"Danny…"

The half-ghost shot upright, knowing now that whenever Ember used his name that she was being very serious and he should give her his full attention.

"About… about what happened in th-the cemetery…"

She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves and trying to get her stomach to settle down a bit, just to try and keep her meal inside.

"W-what I did was fully on impulse, and I-I… I don't know when it happened, o-or how, but… I've fallen in love with you, Danny, but I… Last time I loved someone, it became the reason for… for my death,"

The boy's breath hitched in his throat. His mind suddenly turned to that song she sang during their first meeting. The one that made her so popular. He always felt that there was more to it.

"I just… I-I feel so, so, so… A-afraid… I-I don't want it to go the same way. I don't want this to be a one-way relationship. I don't want to stand in your way. You're half-human, and I'm a… a full ghost. You deserve better, like those human, living girls."

"Besides, we've always been enemies, right? So why not keep it like that, huh?"

He felt his heart breaking with every word. She was giving reasons, valid reasons. He understood her fear, but he also knew that she was starting to make assumptions.

Time to be honest.

"You know, Sam and I, we used to date… But, after a few months we just felt like, it wouldn't work out. And not because we didn't love each other, even now I still have some lingering feelings,"

Ember her ponytail deflated as he spoke, her eyes looking away. If she had a heart, it would surely be shattering about now.

"My point is, we stopped dating because of how, how _different_ we are. I might still be human, but my ghost-half has affected so much of me, even now I can feel how I'm aging slower than the others. I don't even know if like this, I can have kids or not. I'm grateful for Dani, but I still want to be able to be a father, like other people, from the beginning. With Danielle, I feel like I missed out on so much of her youth, even now."

He took a shaky breath, the emotions he's pouring into this collecting together is his voice and throat. He swallow the lump in his throat before continuing.

"After that, I felt… Lost. Like I didn't have anywhere to go. I'll be honest, I changed a bit after that, started listening to different music, acting more… Mature, I guess. And around then, I think I just, started to like, have a… a crush on you, Ember."

For a moment the blue-haired diva felt something in her chest flutter, but that feeling quickly simmered down.

"It was around then that our fights turned into what they are now. Simple exchanges of banter and sparring. I could tell that the usual anger between us was gone, and it gave me… Hope. After I almost killed you in that fight, I realized just how dangerous things could get, and seeing how that danger between us vanished, it gave me hope. Hope for… for more."

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is, we're already far past being enemies. Even if we didn't call each other that, I knew that we had become like friends. This, it felt like, like we were taking the next step, even if it didn't look like it. Ember, I've fallen in love with you, and I don't care if we're different. I-I understand why you're afraid, but I don't want that to stand between us. I promise, I will never hurt you like that. So please, just, give it a chance okay?"

Silence fell. It pressed down like a weight on the two, and for a moment both held their breaths. Eventually needing air, they released their breaths. Neither looked at each other, nor say something. Everything had been said, now they had to think.

Ember replayed what Danny had said through her head, over and over. The words mixed together and her thoughts were a mess. Taking controlled breaths, she tried to focus on something. Curse her mind for that to be her guitar. Immediately the memory of what the halfa had done for her, just by helping her get her guitar fixed, entered her mind.

Danny didn't dare look at the pop-star. His heart was racing, and he was almost afraid he was going to have a heart-attack and die right here and now. Mentally he chuckled, the thought that dying would really make things easier crossing his mind. Since when has death become such a normal subject for them to talk about? Since the day they realized ghosts are real, and they used to have a life?

Ember her thoughts went back to the moment they shared on the cemetery. Not only had Danny let her in on a part of his life no one else knew, he had helped her start accepting the loss she has suffered in her life and afterlife. The pain she usually felt that day had been softened by the heart-filled words the half-ghost had shared with her.

She had to admit, he seemed to ease the pain she felt, and her fears seemed to vanish whenever he was around. The fear she felt right before they came to save her had seemingly melted away when the boy she loves came to save her.

The boy she loves…

And he loves her…

She stood up from her seat and slowly walked to the halfa. His eyes darted up to her, and as she stopped in front of him. She kept her face solid neutral. One last time ticking him off by keeping her emotions locked.

She extended her hand, and he eyed it warily. Unable to read her face, he could only rely on his instincts and trust. A final test.

A test of trust.

He hated the fact she was forcing him to think, her face not showing her emotional state. He could bet not even Jazz could read those steel eyes. He knew that she was testing him, he had a vague idea about that. A test of trust.

Okay, then. Trust it is.

He grabbed her hand, giving it a soft squeeze. She took the hint and pulled him up, taking some care to avoid tearing the bandages around her wrist or opening some of his injuries. As he came to stand up, both were suddenly aware of the slight difference in height. _'Since when has the dipstick grown so much?'_

Taking that simple detail aside, their eyes locked. Danny's were showing the anxiety and worry, but also the care and love he held for her. Hers were like steel, not showing anything. He mentally sighed, his heart unable to stop from break a little with how indifferent she looks.

And then suddenly that mask broke away, the love in those green eyes surprising him. Before he could react to the sudden emotions, she pulled him down a little by the collar while she softly floated up, their lips meeting in the middle. At first shocked, he quickly deepens it by leaning in, allowing himself some control. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his hands wandered to grab her by the waist, pressing her body closer to him. A cold and pleasant shiver passed down her spine with the coolness radiating from the halfa, and he felt the kind warmth from her body and the burning pony-tail, that seemed to increase in size and strength.

After a few lingering moments, they had to end the kiss, gasping for air.

"D-does this mean what I think it means?" Danny asked nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Ember rolled her eyes in exasperation, but she couldn't stop a soft chuckle from escaping her.

"What do you think, baby-pops? Of course. Just, promise me that you'll never, ever break my heart, okay?"

"I promise, with my own heart." Danny spoke, his voice filled with seriousness. Ember nodded, her eyes avoiding his gaze to try and hide the blush she has. Her hands lower down to rest against his chest, and she floated down to the ground before leaning into him. He smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around her, giving her the comfort she needs. This was though for her, he understood that, but he'll always be there for her.

"Is this… what I think it is?"

The two their heads turned to the source, finding Jazz and Sam looking at the duo, the first with a happy smile and the other with a questioning but also somewhat happy expression. Tucker looked up from behind the two girls, trying to get a look himself. Suddenly, Dani phased through the three blocking the door, a small huff escaping her as she turned to them, a small scowl on her face.

"What are you talking abouuuuu-" She trailed off as she turned back and saw her dad embracing Ember, and not in a way that simple friends would do. Her mind took some time to process things, in that time Danny separated from Ember and softly approached his daughter. He knelt down to her level, placing a hand on her shoulder that snapped the little girl from her thoughts. She looked up, the shock still lingering on the young halfa her face, but also carrying confusion and, is that a shimmer of happiness in her eyes?

"Does this mean that, Ember is going to be my mommy?"

The trio of behind her chuckled a little bit, Sam rolling her eyes sweetly. The blue-haired diva came to crouch down next to Danielle, who turned to look at the ghost with expecting eyes.

"Not exactly, sweetie. Your dad and I will be dating from now on, but we're taking it slowly. So, no, I'm not really your mom."

Dani her eyes flickered, and tears appeared on the edges. Danny sighed softly as he grabbed his daughter in a big hug.

"Oh sweetheart." He cooed as he softly rocked the little girl and brushed with his other hand through her hair. Ember joined in on the hug, her ponytail wrapping itself around the two Phantoms, giving them a soft warm feeling.

In the meantime, the three in the door opening looked at the moment with happy eyes, Jazz wiping a few tears from her eyes. Tucker took a few pictures with his PDA, and Sam simply had her eyes closed, focusing on the good part about this all.

At least Danny is finally able to get over their break-up. Now only she has to get over it.

* * *

"So, this is going to be a bit strange to get used to." Sam mused as the six flew through the Ghost Zone in the Fenton Speeder. Danny was standing in the cockpit, a hand on the two seats, Tucker navigating and Sam steering.

"I know, and we'll have to figure out some other things on the way. For now, we'll take it slow. Ember still has some, uhm, _things_ to deal with." Danny said as his eyes were fixated on the path ahead. He already could see the Fenton Portal in the distance.

"You mean, getting over the fact her death was thanks to heartbreak?" Tucker asked with a neutral tone. His two friends spared him a questioning look, and he simply shrugged. "There was more to her song than just lyrics."

"Yeah, I sort of figured that out too." Danny said with a slightly confused look. His eyes darted to Sam, but the goth merely shrugged before focusing on her steering.

In the back, Jazz was holding Danielle, who still was a little bit down from the news. She had always hoped to have a mom, and after learning that Sam wasn't going to be the one, she _really_ had hoped that Ember could be her new mommy.

The diva was seated in the opposite of the speeder, her mind thinking about a few things. She sometimes spared a glance at the two Fentons in front of her, and Jazz shot her a few sympathetic looks. She sighed, feeling bad for hurting the little bud's feelings like that.

But truth be told, she _really_ wasn't sure if this would go differently from _last time_.

They reached the Fenton Portal. Danny entered the back, a sad smile on his face as he noticed that Dani was still slumping. She didn't look at him, and he understood why. Ember stood up and offered for a handshake. The halfa shook his head and gave the blue-haired ghost a hug. She flashed him an apologetic look as her eyes briefly passed over the sad form of Dani.

He mouthed her 'she'll be alright' before letting go. She waved goodbye at Jazz, who offered a kind smile before wrapping her arms around her niece a bit tighter. She went up front and offered a simple handshake to the two friends, and Sam even flashed her a somewhat kind look. Taking that as a last sign off good luck, she phased out of the speeder and flew off, leaving the five to their devices.

Allowing the silence to remain, Sam steered the speeder through the portal. As they entered back into the lab, Tucker and Sam their eyes widened in shock. Putting the speeder down softly, Danny and Jazz couldn't shake the uneasy aura that suddenly surrounded them. Taking some caution, Danny went to the door of the Fenton Speeder and opened it. As soon as it's fully open he looks outside. His eyes widen to dished and his pupils turn to dots as his eyes meet the infuriating looks from Jack and Maddie Fenton.

Oh, crud. They're screwed.

* * *

 **Author's note: Okay, I think next time I'll have to warn for feels and fluff like this. Anyways, hope to see you again for the next chapter, because I'm leaving you with this cliffhanger for the rest of this and next week.**

 **Why, you might ask? Well, I'm trying to get my focus on the other stories in the making. Also, I'm announcing that my story 'Aftermath of Time' is going to be officially deleted by the end of this week. Sorry, but it just isn't going to work out like I hoped it would.**

 **Anyways, remember to fav, follow and review and I'll see you all soon!**


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